The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story of the same name opens with the following image: "Wrapped in a voluminous white blanket, and partially crammed into one of the cribs, there sat an old man apparently about seventy years of age. His sparse hair was almost white, and from his chin dripped a long smoke-colored beard, which waved absurdly back and forth, fanned by the breeze coming in at the window." The filmmakers who adapted Fitzgerald's tale either completely missed that passage, or deliberately decided to ignore the absurd tone it set so well. The film version frames the real story by placing it within the ludicrous plot of a dying woman revealing a long-held secret to her daughter. Instead of embracing the obviously silly nature of the premise, that of a person being born as an old man and growing young, the film attempts to use it as a vessel for cliche life lesson after cliche life lesson. The major mistake was choosing drama over comedy - it would have been more effective to cast a bumbling Will Ferrell type in place of Brad Pitt.

Um?
2 out of 5
Buy this film: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Buy the original story: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Other Jazz Age Stories

Plot: 2
Imagery: 2
Originality: 1
Soundtrack: 1
Overall: 2