Funny and Moving Forrest Gump Type Movie

Rating: 9/10 (27 December 2008)

After watching this movie, my immediate thoughts were Brad Pitt's performance was excellent and probably a sure bet for Best Actor nomination, but also that the lion's share of the credit for this movie's success belongs to the incredible creative talent behind it production, that is the screen writers, directors, graphic artists, supporting actors, and everyone else involved. I suspect there are many other actors who could have done what Pitt did, as there wasn't much emotional range required for his role. The central figure in the film was Benjamin Button but what really made the movie were all of the backstories, like his adopted mom, the Tug Boat Captain, his biological father, & the various other figures (i.e. - the nursing home resident struck by lightening 7 times). These were what made the movie interesting.
I'm sure F. Scott Fitzgerald would have approved of this version of his short story with two very big thumbs up. This is without question the best movie adaptation of any of his works I've ever seen. It more than makes up for Coppola's wretchedly bad "The Great Gatsby", perhaps Fitzgerald's best known work with a similar big box office budget.
The one weak link was its length, nearly 3 hours. I thought this could have been reduced by at least 1/2 hour. The love interest aspect with Cate Blanchett was a bit overdone, and the Tilda Swinton vignette could have been eliminated entirely, as he'd already lost his virginity in a New Orleans brothel, courtesy of the Tug Boat Captain.
But all that aside, this is a really good movie worth checking out on the big screen.