If I Could Turn Back Time.

Rating: Null/10 (17 March 2009)

As Hurricane Katrina looms in 2005 New Orleans, an elderly woman (Cate Blanchett in very heavy makeup) in a hospital thinks back to the titled character (Brad Pitt), a man who actually lived life physically in reverse from an elderly gentleman backwards to a newborn via her adult daughter (Julia Ormond) reading from an old journal. As Button is born under very strange circumstances and taken in by an African-American caregiver (Taraji P. Henson) in 1918, he sees history unfold before his eyes through the greater portion of the 20th Century and ends up becoming an extraordinary person who leads a somewhat normal existence. Pitt's performance is the stuff legends are made of cinematically speaking. He is so good that most everyone else (except for supporter Henson) somewhat gets lost in the shuffle. Blanchett and female co-star Tilda Swinton (who ends up having a substantial role for a short period of the nearly three-hour running time) seem a bit lost and out-of-place, however. With that said, director David Fincher has still crafted an amazing production which benefits greatly from its adapted screenplay (from a short story written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and adapted by co-screenwriter Eric Roth), cinematography, soundtrack, editing, and subtle visual/makeup effects. Pitt is the revelation which helps to overcome the film's shortcomings and make it a memorable and highly emotional experience at the movies. Excellent. 5 stars out of 5.