This could have been a masterpiece

Rating: 7/10 (23 September 2013)

Lyrical and poetic attempt at an epic chronicle of a man aging backwards by David Fincher (Se7en (1995), Fight Club (1999)), who is obviously less at home in the fantasy genre than he is doing thrillers. Nevertheless, the film looks fabulous and stars an array of wonderful actors, chief among them Brad Pitt as the protagonist Benjamin Button who is suffering from this strangest of afflictions and the stunning Cate Blanchett as Daisy, the woman he keeps on loving all his life despite the obstacles time throws at their passion that keep them from forming a natural relationship. Born as a wrinkled and frail baby suffering from all the symptoms of old age, Benjamin is discarded by his disgusted father and left at a home for the elderly where he is raised by caretaker Queenie (Taraji P. Henson, who was Oscar nominated for her contribution). Growing up amongst the old folks, Benjamin isn't suspected to last long but surprises everybody by getting younger and younger, eventually leaving home to explore the world, which results in a voyage through the 20th century similar to Forrest Gump (except not going for comedy, undoubtedly for the best), having the naive and ever positive Benjamin participate in WW II and witness the space race of the Sixties among other situations. Traveling the globe, he never loses contact with the love of his life and finally settles with Daisy when both reach middle age (the only moment of temporal equality for them both), after which they produce a child, only for Benjamin to realize his grotesque condition means he could never be a true father figure for his new born daughter. A sense of lust for life and adventure goes hand in hand with an unshakable feeling of tragedy and melancholy when The Curious Case of Benjamin Button steers towards a dramatic ending that doesn't entirely successfully balance a bittersweet note with blatant sentimentality. The film is also an homage to the city of New Orleans which witnesses the beginning and end of Benjamin and his caring for Daisy: however, Fincher's decision to have the story be told by an aging Daisy on her death bed in a New Orleans hospital threatened by hurricane Katrina keeps on hindering the plot at various turns and adds an uneasy link with recent history the movie had better done without, also to keep the running time in check instead of letting it run rampant to 166 minutes, with many of the last act's moments losing pace and dragging on needlessly, thus making a potential masterpiece end up as just a curious case itself.