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Letterboxd Reviews

So as you know, I stopped writing lengthy reviews on this site this year, keeping the blog as more of a film diary of sorts.  Lo and behold,...

Friday, January 30, 2009

Movie Review - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

starring Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Taraji P. Henson, Tilda Swinton, and Julia Ormand
directed by David Fincher
screenplay by Eric Roth


Inconsequential.

That's the only thing I could think of when this movie was finished. Who knew that a movie nominated for 13 Oscars could be so flippin' boring?

The story is simple and it's spread out over three painfully dull hours. Benjamin is born old knowing nothing and grows young while gaining knowledge. There are many, many vignettes that you would think lead up to some defining moment in his life, but they all end up being inconsequential. (There's that word again)

That's the problem with the film. There are scenes that are good by themselves (particularly his affair with Tilda Swinton), but Pitt's portrayal of Benjamin is so one-note that you never get the sense that he learned a thing from his journeys...and there are many journeys.

It's not just Pitt that's one-note...the whole movie is kinda flat. Washed out colors and monotone line readings just made the flick a drag both visually and aurally.

Taraji P. Henson's Oscar-nominated role as Benjamin's adopted mother is okay, but I always got the sense that she was "acting." She never embodied the role.

The special effects were certainly admirable and should probably win the Oscar. There was never a moment when I felt like I was watching a digitalized face of Brad Pitt on an old man. The make-up was also stellar. There were a few shots cinematography-wise that were good as well.

My main problem with the film is that I sat through three hours of it and I have no idea what it was trying to say. Love is everlasting? Age shouldn't hold us back? Age is nothing but a number? Don't judge a book by its cover? I have no clue because there really was no point to anything in this film.

It was simply inconsequential.

The RyMickey Rating: C-

2 comments:

  1. I finally watched it, so I've seen every one of the Oscar nominees. It wasn't a terrible movie by an stretch of the imagination. It was just... Forrest Gump without the retardation and the strong lead. Pitt was good, just not good enough for a movie of such a grand scope. When he was old he was playing him as old, not young, and the opposite is true. Cate was beautiful as usual, but her make-up when she was young annoyed the hell out of me.
    The mother was decent. Not really deserving of a nomination but I believe that stems from the lack of any competition except maybe the Mohawk woman from Frozen River, which I just finished.

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  2. My movie-going in terms of the Oscars is weak this year -- that's what happens when they don't realize Milk and The Reader wide enough.

    I agree that it had a "grand scope," but, it didn't feel "grand" or something. It lacked oomph.

    This one just bored me. I can't say Pitt was good...he was just bland. Although, it was probably one of his better roles (I'm not a Pitt fan and haven't seen much with him in it).

    Frozen River's on the netflix list, but I don't think it's out yet.

    P.S. Thanks for posting...

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