Review - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Went to see this last night. Not bad use of the embedded (!) narrator a la Bill Shakespeare. Unfortunately, this turned into - may even be the new benchmark for- an epic American nostalgia binge. Reminded me strongly of The Way We Wuz and Forest Lump and comes replete with all the stock motifs of American culture - tugboats, sweeps across landmark American historical events, quirky battlers who do the hard yards all too freakin well and dark lit southern oldy worldy interiors with drawly accents. Ah, lots of real magicism and a strong thread of self-parody but ahm afraid it didn't go far enough to make me take it seriously. Wonderful, wonderful use of makeup to create the slowest reveal of all time, and, I do admit that the concept of growing younger as partner grows older was truly promising. But, even that ends up a bit too mechanical like. The goal often just seemed to be "Hey, I know, let's try and capture the stunning physical beauty of Brad's and Kate's faces and bodies and pass that off as art". Je t'adore Cate Blanchet. I would gleefully create an entire religion based on the flutter of just one of your eyebrows. The left one I think. Pitt is Hubbell Gardiner (Reford) writ large. But their coming together? Not nearly as beautiful or surprising as was intended. To be frank, Frank; the Yanks still don't have a feel for an ending. There are some lovely comic moments and if this film wins at all its in its superb little cameos within the larger play - take the affair with Tilda Swinton for instance. Two point eight nine stars.