Benjamin Button

Last night we viewed The Curious Case of Benjamin Button which was based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story and directed by David Fincher. Fincher has made some of the best movies I have seen, Fight Club and Se7en. So where did this little idea come from? When did the man who did The Game, Panic Room, Alien 3 and Zodiac decide to do a touching romance?

Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 72%, I would have to agree. I thought is was visually beautiful and the effects they used to age the characters was mind blowing, but the story was a bit hollow. I was expecting there to be an answer to Benjamin's backward aging, or for him to accomplish something astounding. Instead it was a Forest Gump style story where a man ages in reverse, and we are given insight into his experiences and the people he meets along the way.

I have not read the short story, but I know enough to believe that the movie and story are two different things. I enjoyed the movie, it was better than I expected, but it was quickly forgetable due to it's sleepy pace.