5 stars out of 5
Director David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club) and screenwriters Eric Roth (Forrest Gump, The Horse Whisperer, The Good Shepherd) and Robin Swicord (Memoirs Of A Geisha, The Jane Austen Book Club) have collaborated to produce a wondrous, moving, and magical film, very loosely inspired by an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story. Benjamin Button, born the day World War I ended, ages backwards - he comes into the world an old man and dies an infant; this film is the story of his life, told in flashbacks from a dying woman's bed in a New Orleans hospital as Hurricane Katrina approaches. Every aspect of Benjamin Button is masterfully done, from the beautiful cinematography and production design to the fine acting by a large and diverse cast (including Tilda Swinton, Cate Blanchett, and Julia Ormond) with Brad Pitt in the title role, nicely laconic and understated. But Fincher, Roth, and Swicord are the true stars of the film, as they have created a delicate and luminous work that is intriguing and inspiring, emotionally powerful yet leavened with whimsy and humor, and entirely unique. Though languidly-paced and quite long at nearly three hours, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button is a film that is sad to see end. (I second this review. Paul Schindler)
