Just like Forest Gump's life, only backwards.

Rating: 7/10 (8 April 2010)

One question remained unanswered for me while coming out from seeing "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; why did Benjamin Button age backwards? This was the question that drew hyped audiences into theaters to find out. With such an interesting concept surely the revelation of the supernatural mystery of Button's life was going to be epic, if not at least somewhat revelatory. Yet what we got instead (spoilers) was a man's scenic journey through life, and that's it. There was no twist, no Dues ex machina, just a man living his life in backwards order. This was, to say the least, disappointing. Even though director David Fincher created yet another breathtaking film in scope, cinematography, and nostalgia for American history, I felt that for a film with such an astonishing premise, it was somewhat squandered.
Maybe the one to blame is writer Eric Rothe, who also scripted Forest Gump, and there are more than a couple similarities between the two films. This connection is what frustrated me this most. The Benjamin Button catchphrase "You never know what's comin' for ya," is too similar to "life is like a box of chocolates" and often shares the-one man-living-an-extraordinary-life-without-knowing-it thing. But the difference is Forest Gump doesn't realize his extra-ordinariness, which makes it that much more enjoyable for the viewer, where Benjamin Button becomes fully aware, and very involved in his forthcoming maturity. The film hints at why Benjamin's life occurs this way, and does offer a fulfilling story about human frailty, relationships, and sacrifice, but besides that there was no clear answer (to me anyway) why he was a man living life in reverse. Maybe it was meant to be this way, and maybe I need to see it again, but I was left unanswered and unsatisfied to what could have been a near perfect film.