single serving review: the curious case of benjamin button
twee - noun - something that is sweet, almost to the point of being sickeningly so.
i like brad pitt (fight club, se7en, 12 monkeys). i like cate blanchett (i’m not there, heaven, the life aquatic with steve zissou). i like david fincher (se7en, fight club, panic room, zodiac). so it should be a given that i like the curious case of benjamin button.
except that i didn’t.
it’s been a long time since i was actually, genuinely bored while watching a movie. i’m usually easy to entertain, pretty forgiving of plots, and admittedly an apologist for nearly all entertainment in general (after all, it was better than having hot pokers put through your eyes, right?). during the course of this movie, though, i found myself not really caring so much about what was going on and instead just wanting it to get to the point.
don’t get me wrong - the ambitious movie is shot beautifully and acted wonderfully enough by all involved, and i get that the message is that every moment of life is precious. it’s got some great visuals and even pretty funny in several places. it just seemed that in getting the message across every. moment. became. overly. precious. - to the point of almost becoming disingenuous. ultimately the movie’s too long and, for all its prettiness, button doesn’t deliver on its promise to arouse curiosity.
2/5 lightning strikes
