Review 532: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button may not be David Fincher's best film, but it's a poignantly told story that 

Based on the short story The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) is a man who is born in his eighties and ages backwards: a man, like any of us, who is unable to stop time. From New Orleans at the end of the World War I in 1918, into the 21st century, on a journey as unusual as any man's life can be, this is a grand tale of a not so ordinary man and the people and places he discovers along the way, the loves he finds and loses, the joys of life and the sadness of death and what lasts beyond time.

In terms of genre, this film is a radical departure for David Fincher from his dark thrillers,

Critics have compared this film (understandably) to Forrest Gump as both follow a protagonist who goes on (to quote Roger Ebert) an amazing odyssey through life but The Curious Case of Benjamin Button lacks the formers feel-good warmth and uplifting message and instead has a much more tragic quality. Benjamin Button condition is very presented as a curse, that's a given from the minute he's born and because of that he can't settle down and have a normal life.

David Fincher's direction is sensitive and  the cinematography is gorgeous and captures the beauty America throughout the 20th century. The score by Alexandre Desplat is beautiful, the costumes are terrific, the production design (creating New Orleans in the 20th century) is fabulous, the make up is astonishing and beautifully detailed to make Benjamin Button like old wrinkly baby boy if you catch my meaning. The lighting is splendid

With a runtime of 168 minutes, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button does drag in spots 

Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are magnificently luminous in this film playing Benjamin Button and Daisy Fuller respectively.
As Daisy gets older, Benjamin gets younger 

A lot of people are trying to catch up with his condition because they don't fully understand it and neither does Button himself because of how different he is from everyone else.