Curiously boring

Rating: 5/10 (16 May 2009)

It's an arousing concept derived from the novelist, in its play of life and death and the stages of the body from day one to day final, but aside from this ironic concept the movie does nothing for the viewer. I will not defame the cinematographers, the crew, etc, because clearly they are very technically savvy when it comes to their craft. However, there is always a place to lay blame on bad directors for mediocre films. You can tell when a director makes an attempt at stripped down simplicity to evoke a seemingly complicated tale. In the case of David Fincher, it is a lukewarm success.
Time and time again, when haven't we seen the recycled incident of an aging and frail parental figure recounting his/her life storywith some shocking secrets I might add(wink, wink). I have nothing against the cliché because it's really not about the tale, but more about the teller telling you the story. The voice over was utterly ridiculous, it felt like a clear condescension, and an all too convenient cinematic devise to link this big mess together. Look at well done voiceovers like in Kubrick's clockwork orange, where there is a feasibility of the protagonist telling the story, and an actively dynamic question between the narrator's truth and the truth you observe on screen. With Button, you have an arbitrary case where you are simply spoon fed the incident, as if I couldn't just sit back and watch the events unfold without them being verbally described.
You can tell when a director attempts to masturbate an audience's emotions, and happens to fail in conquering our hearts. The series of events such as the teeny-bopper Benjamin returning home, or his return as a child, are meant to provoke you, but fall short of the punch line and goes on awkwardly silent like a very bad joke.
One last note, there is no such thing as a bad actor, only bad directors. Brad Pitt is not a Bad actor, but when he is constantly used as a ticket seller on the basis of his good looks and flesh, then it becomes little more than expensive pornography-which we all enjoy from time to time.