Despite its strength, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is a misfire from a previously exciting director.

Rating: 6/10 (29 July 2010)

David Fincher has established himself in mainstream cinema as a visionary perfectionist and cult director with Se7en and Fight Club; it's unfortunate that his latest effort, which earned him his first Academy Award nomination, is not up to this usual standard, despite following the Fincher/Pitt formula. Though it isn't exactly Fincher thinking within his comfort zone, he takes the conventional crowd-pleasing material from a screenplay by regular critics favourite Eric Roth, creating a life story scratching American history but with a strange twist for the protagonists' circumstance. Benjamin Button ages backwards (this premise taken and modernized from F. Scott Fitzgerald's work). He begins life as an old man and ends it as a baby's form, though his mental age does not follow the same pattern.
The film of a fantasy scale works on the basis of sealed fate with consequences destined to happen – which may be merely an attempt to excuse certain contrivances and also makes us question whether any supposed danger is relevant. It also has the idea and theme of an imperfect balance; "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh" – ironically I find an imperfect balance between the films use of sentiment and truly poignant moments and, in general, the good and bad points of quality. To understand Benjamin Button we must first make a plausible assumption as to why he ages backwards – considering it's never directly revealed; otherwise emotional attachment becomes impossible since the characters don't question this miracle as often as one would expect. Within the prologue the audience is presented with the storytelling technique; Button's love of his life, Daisy, or Cate Blanchett in heavy makeup on her death bed with her daughter (Caroline) beside her. Just before Caroline reads Button's mild recollections in his diaries, Daisy tells of a story that occurred just before Benjamin's birth (of which, coincidentally, is exactly the day The Great War ended) where a blind clockmaker sends his son to war only to die soon afterwards. In this angst he makes a clock for a train station that runs backwards – as if to express his compassion for wanting everyone who died in the war to return; however it is not well received. He dies soon afterwards. With these parallels, it is probable that because of the man's broken heart, Benjamin Button's life corresponds to that of the clock. "The Lord taketh and the Lord giveth".
The aesthetic qualities are rewarding enough to save the film from a level of mediocrity for its technical competence cannot be ignored. The cinematography, thankfully, keeps full grasp of the scale and creates a much needed subtlety between the special effects and reality. It manages to fully compensate Fincher's vision with cinematic beauty that's thoroughly pleasing to the eye often taking the opportunity to get an emotional reaction from the audience successfully. However, the colours become more muted and plain as it steps near to the third act around the time Benjamin and Daisy are reunited almost completely changing the tone – though luckily it returns it within the epilogue. The films crowning achievement remains it's tremendous score, by Alexandre Desplat, where its sheer ambiance is a delight, corresponding to the imagery with precision even if it is rather repetitive. It still makes the experience worth the near 3 hours.
After having watched the film it is very clear that Brad Pitt's nomination is merely an apology for snubbing him since Twelve Monkeys, most notably his extraordinary performance in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. In The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Brad Pitt does nothing. He's not even a blank canvas. But there is no opportunity for emotional range. Benjamin Button is a vacant being, his naivety is clearly apparent by his lack of reaction to anything as contrasted by Daisy's reaction. And this is infuriating for an actor of Pitt's talent and a character of this scale. However, even though it's so subtle it can barely be intentional, throughout all ages of Button's life Pitt manages to form an ambiance of the man by his presence and carry it consistently during the film. Cate Blanchett, however, provides an elegant, focused, controlled and passionate portrayal of Daisy retaining chemistry with Pitt and saving his mediocre effort. It's also impressive that she managed to give the impression of a full character considering the entire life span. Although her character is a complete stereotype, Taraji P. Henson (garnering a deserved nomination), who plays Benjamin's 'mother' Queenie, her enthusiasm is unparalleled and thoroughly compelling – especially her ability to preserve a sense of nurturing personality since the majority of the first act she isn't acting besides Pitt himself. Unfortunately the rest of the cast are absolute clichés and barely worth mention – other than Tilda Swinton's brief turn.
Overall The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is not a worthy addition to any specific elite. Although potentially a pleasant experience and a popcorn crowd-pleaser, there is no way this film will stand the test of time or even the transition to being shown on television. Let alone the fact that most of the dialogue is often a pain to the ears, Fincher should keep to dark elements with more relevant undertones and experiments with cinematic techniques. The influence is limited and uninspired, often rushing towards ideas of freedom and life lessons and rarely being exhilarating. If it deserves any credibility it'll just be for the technical competence. It's definitely an on-the-surface film but luckily for it, the surface is very pretty.
6/10