Old men and children understand

Rating: 7/10 (4 February 2009)

I went to see this movie thinking one thing, and came out thinking another. I went in thinking, OK, so this is too long and it will be pretentious and Cate Blanchett is going to be the best thing about it. I came out thinking it's just right, it's both engaging and touching, and Brad Pitt is the best thing about it. By a long shot. I never thought Cate Blanchett could get on my nerves, but she does. Her performance as a young dancer bursting with energy is, predictably, easy on the eye, but downright irritating where personality is concerned. As a dying widower looking back on her wasted life, her mannerism is nearly impossible to stand. Brad Pitt, on the other hand, totally pulls it off as a guy who's different from everybody else (he's aging backwards), yet tries to make the best of it. What really moved me is how he doesn't try to outsmart Fitzgerald, Fincher, or even the audience. His character cannot explain his condition, but he isn't as baffled by it as everybody else, simply because he's had it all his life. Throw in the the killer looks of Pitt in his prime, and you've got everyone's attention. Very nice work by costume designer Jaqueline West for making him look so good, especially in his post-war outfits and as a high-fashion hobo exploring the far east on his Royal Enfield motorcycle. Fine guest appearances by quirky Tilda Swinton and gorgeous Julia Ormond. - "Benjamin Button" is so old-fashioned, it looks brand new. Perhaps that sort of sums up David Fincher's art? As the great Welsh songwriter Frank Hennessy once put it: Old men and children understand.