Almost great

Rating: 8/10 (15 March 2012)

Benjamin Button is almost a great film. The problem is the length which is at least 30- 40 minutes too long. It would have worked as a two hour movie. David Fincher needed to get his ego under control and leave some things on the cutting room floor.
A backwards running clock starts things going as a reason for the plot of Benjamin Button(Brad Pitt) aging backwards, starting as an old man and time shifting in reverse to youth. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the original as a short story.
Benjamin falls in love with Daisy(Cate Blanchett) and so begins a life long romance with the twist being that she gets older and he gets younger as the years pass by. Real historical events such as Pearl Harbor are used as a background. Brad and Cate have a natural chemistry and Fincher's visual sense is acute, this is a gorgeous feast for the eyes. I was initially mesmerized by the concept until the final 1/3 which became ultimately exhausting. My only advice to Fincher next time is edit, edit, Edit.