Groundbreaking, but it doesn't realise its promise

Rating: 7/10 (21 February 2009)

The potential of David Fincher going into the mainstream is seemingly enormous. He is a director of brilliant vision and superb talent. With "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", the story of a man who ages backwards, he has the chance to explore the full extent of his talents, both as a visual filmmaker and a storyteller. It was an exciting proposition, but, for some reason, he only manages to pull out a solid piece of work, which, whilst being visually impressive and technically astounding, is somewhat lost in its own pretensions.
The film's strengths are many in number, though light in weight. The most notable of these are the groundbreaking visual effects and make up which allow Brad Pitt, and to a lesser extent Cate Blanchett, to roll the years back and forward. This is a "Gollum" moment: another brilliant and unexpected leap forward in visual effects technology.
No matter how they may have been altered, the cast are also excellent. Brad Pitt delivers a very effective performance and is utterly believable all the way through the film. Cate Blanchett is as good as ever, whilst Julia Ormond is given a thankless task as Blanchett's daughter but she carries it off well, and there is also a lovely little performance by Tilda Swinton. Taraji P. Henson, however, steals the film as Button's mother, and fully deserves her Oscar nomination.
David Fincher, himself, excels in his usually way, with his optimum style. Some sequences are breathtaking, such as Daisy dancing for Button which is wonderful to see. The film is utterly arresting as a visual experience. It looks beautiful from start to finish and is magnificently shot by Claudio Miranda.
However, for a film which is 166 minutes long it does depressingly little with its time. The central motif of Button ageing backwards feels like it should be doing or saying something, but it isn't and, as the condition is never explained in the story or by a theme, it jars somewhat. There are only hints of ideas in this film. There is an anti-war (anti-Bush) theme which floats in occasionally, but is ultimately too short-lived, but there is nothing else which is really going on. Everything seems to be half-baked  enough to envelop the viewer, though not to grip.
The film is a sentimental tale and is not an unpleasant way to spend almost three hours. It is at times an astonishing thing to see on screen, but it is not a magnificent thing. It promised so much, but it is a disappointment. It lacks a deal of sophistication and depth which the film perhaps deserves. A masterpiece was hoped for, but all we have is a solid, if groundbreaking, piece of film.