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I’m not entirely sure what I think about The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, on the one hand it’s a compelling and very original story wrapped in a sumptuous visual smorgasbord.  On the other hand however, it takes a few cans of energy drink to make it through the 176 minute run time without drifting off once or twice.

Of course a story that follows the entire life of man born old and growing through life backwards, demands a lot of screen time.  The risk of course is that as with any life, you’re going to end up with long stretches of boredom.

In some ways it’s a little bit like Forest Gump, but Brad Pitt outshines Tom Hanks with ease, producing a stand out performance that, for a fair portion of the movie, keeps you glued to the screen.  The many incarnations of Kate Blanchett as Benjamin Button’s soul mate adds a very nice dynamic to the storyline, and the punctuation of some humour keep the movie from ever getting too dark.

All in all, David Fincher has created a masterpiece that will probably never realise it’s true potential due to its seriously long runtime.

Reviewed by: Jonathan Read
Rating: [M] Contains offensive language and sexual references.
Released on: June 3rd, 2009
Year of Original Release: 2008
Stars: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Kimberly Scott, Jason Flemyng, Taraji P. Henson
Length (Minutes): 176
Media Format: DVD
Languages: English
Director: Fincher, David
Studio: Warner Bros
Supported Audio: Dolby Digital Surround 5.1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1

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