I still don't think this is going to end up with any major nominations (except maybe for best supporting actress). I think it's going to have to be an astonishingly amazing movie to get any Academy recognition, and I just don't think it's going to be that good.

I'm still excited though.

I don't know that it needs to be astonishingly amazing. This is one of the worst movie years in recent memory.

It seems like a very original idea and story which is much appreciated.
If not by the academy than by me.

@dre:

Could you please elaborate? Have you seen this?

I saw Benjamin Button at a small private screening the other night and I can assure you the film is a total miscalcution by all involved. It is not Zodiac (Fincher) Meets Forrest Gump (Roth), but a project that sucks out the creative juices of all involved. Everyone I talked with after the screening was stunned by the inertness of the experience. There is no dramatic resonance to the story; it just goes on and on and on. Actually there is more wit and wisdom in the original Fitzgerald story. The Benjamin character played by Pitt has very little to do growing up backward as the film journeys from the end of World War I to Katrina. Yes, there was so little action in the movie's three hours that the hospital where the story is told in flashback must be flooded to end this thing. Sometimes hurricanes are a good thing. There is no Oscar in the future for any of the principals, only the future need for creative redemption by the A listers. The trailer is nice and artfull the film dreadful.

@Farberman: Thanks for the mini-review Farberman! I actually just read the screening that was scheduled in LA had to be canceled after only 30 minutes due to the outage of a color channel. You remain one of the few that has seen it and I will add your comments to an upcoming Oscar brief.

I doubt Farberman actually saw Benjamin Button, as the first screenings of the finished movie just happened this weekend. I was at the Thursday screening that was, as you say Brad, cancelled and rescheduled yesterday. First of all, it is not 3 hours, but 2 1/2 and you never feel the length because the story is so mesmerizing, engaging and full of surprises. In fact, you don't want it to end. I'm glad they stopped the screening on Thursday as the movie, when screened correctly, is astonishing. It's the kind of movie the studios should be making. Many people had to sit through the credits to compose themselves because it is so emotional. I predict Oscar nominations galore for this one…

@Tom Muchmore: Yeah, I started thinking the same thing as I was writing up my article last night about Saturday's screening.

One question for you, if you don't mind, how old are you and do you think the film skews to an older audience? Both reports I read last night made age references and how it may affect how the film is perceived.

I am 42, but I was with a bunch of twenty somethings who were pretty blown away. The movie really got to all of us, but for different reasons and in different parts. That's pretty amazing. One told me that the movie really moved her because there are so many private and painful things that go overlooked when examining the life of a twenty year old, so she had great empathy for both Benjamin and Daisy. She called the movie "enchanting" and felt it would stay with her a long time. I guess because I'm older, I am starting to consider mortality, the people who in my life I care about and, because I just lost my parents, what grief is all about. I think it's for all ages, but, as you say, it seems to affect people differently depending on where they are in life.

@Tom Muchmore: That is fascinating to hear, and I am sorry for your loss. Curiously, screenwriter Eric Roth said he lost his parents while writing the script and it did have some form of inspiration in his adaptation.

Wow, that's amazing. It seemed to comfort me, what the old Daisy was feeling, that she was curious about what was next and felt she had lived a good life. Thanks for the kind words.

RUN…………………….dont turn back, save your money

This is the worst piece of crap I've every sat thru, not to mention 3 gruling hours of torture. I wanted to be struck by lightening, at least 7 times to be put out of my misery.
Sorry Brad you suck.

From Brad: Paul, you realize you added nothing to the conversation and only managed to insult me don't you?

I think it would be hard for someone who cannot spell or put together a sentence to realize anything…

horrible movie with horrible messages.
I guess Brad Pitt really needed the money. How could he attach his name to this forest gump want to be of a movie??
The scene with that little girl under the table with the old man was sickening. All scenes with the little girl and old man brad pitt and the tug boat captain was frightening and made us squirm in our seats. I think the friendship of the two could have been done in a less sneaky way with no touching. That may have helped.

Also since when does a health condition prevent a man from being a good husband and father?? Is this promoting abandanment of your family when things are tough? Ride around the world on a bike instead even though he would of had plenty of good years to raise his daughter to adulthood. He leaves because he doesn't want her to have to take care of the two of them so what happens-when it gets the toughest he moves back by her and she takes care of him anyway. How heartless! After his fun around the world he drops on her doorstep when he is a teen for her to care for him until infancy. How selfish. Brad Pitt can do any movie hes wants- why promote new orleans/katrina (pitts passion) at the expense of family what all of us presume by his adoptions is a passion also. The fact he did makes him heartless and phony just like the character benjamin button.

Typical selfish male movie. Women get old and wrinkly and men need to bail. women must suffer their decisions. oh joy!

Worst movie ever..
I actually had to leave my wife at the movie while I went to a bar to drown my sorrows of being forced to see this horrible movie.

Wow, I'm surprised at the some of the comments regarding this movie.

First, the movie IS long, but it is engaging and you truly do not know what to expect. I didn't want the movie to end and am thinking about seeing it again to catch more of the nuances.

Yes, the scenes with the old man and the young girl were a little creepy but that sets up the whole love story.

And yes, you do wonder why Benjamin feels compelled to leave and then at the end he comes back anyway. But that is life. We do things that don't make sense and then we "come back." Life is not perfect.

Anyway, I LOVED the movie. I just saw it yesterday and thought how it reminded me of movies in the old Hollywood tradition. The cinematography, score and costumes (at least Tilda Swinton's) were all lush and the acting was exquisite.

This movie will sweep the Oscar nominations and I hope it wins tons of awards!

My girlfriend is quoted as saying,
"Trust me. This movie is going to be great. You've got to learn my judgement".
Needless to say, she will be quite reserved the next time we visit the cinema.

Benji button was watching a man's life go backwards while my life hurtled painfully forwards.
I am now 2.5 hours older and none the wiser. Which is one character trait i seem to share with
the majority of the characters in the movie.

Frost/Nixon was showing in the cinema next store. I wish i had a clock that wound backwards too…

Did all these people see the same film as I or are they just film "snobs?" My pick for the #1 film of the year!

David T-funny
Paula-good comments but if someone in your life makes a 15 year mistake, that doesn't make sense because life isn't perfect and they "come back" tell them to get lost. Daisy should of and actually she should of been so busy in her new life she would not of had time to take away from her family to take care of a loser of a person who didn't take care of his responsibilities. I just hate the message and women should not be doormats.
I am glad you liked the movie though and could overlook some of it.
If you are the person who is coming back then life wouldn't be so bad, would it? Entertainment should not make it appear to be normal or okay to leave your family-too many dead beat dads out there, right?
And film snobs, marie, because we didn't like your favorite movie???? I don't get it…

Amazing movie, I guess everyone sees it from their point of view though. Benjamin grew up with the elderly therefore he saw the world though different eyes, he had a sense of innocence about him and he appreciated life. Daisy went off to NY to follow her dreams, getting caught up in a not so innocent lifestyle, with little regard for the true beauty of life. They meet in the middle, Daisy began to see life how Benjamin saw it as they were sitting on the bench and she claims she would never wallow in self pity again. Moral of the whole story is appreciate the now, nothing will last forever and it is never too late to follow your dreams. In what is now becoming more and more of a materialistic world, all work no play and full of greed, this film helps to capture the way life should be seen.

I happened to love the film. I thought the story was fantastic and the acting was first rate. I thought it made me laugh, cry and everything in between.

I enjoyed the movie very much. I thought it had a few 'longueurs' but I was thoroughly entertained. And to me, that's all a movie is supposed to do. It doesn't have to contain a message or be totally accurate when referencing to historical events. It should enable one to escape for the time of the film and if the movie makes one think…that is simply bonus.

I am a new father and saw a good friend draw his last breath as he lost his battle against AIDS. Perhaps this facilitated this movie to move me as I did catch myself thinking of my little boy and loved ones that I have lost. I even thought – selfishly – about my own death and time remaining on this earth. I even lost a tear or two.

I don't know if this movie will win any awards and don't care. I am not a die hard fan of Brad Pitt or Hollywood personalities in general. I'm just glad I saw it.

p.s. It reminded me of another good movie I saw: 1900.

Benjamin Button should have been born wise. The way the movie is now, Button (Pitt) is never allowed to be any more than a child. If he had grown not dumber but more adolescent and wild as the film went on and he approached his thrities and twenties, I would have been much more intrigued by his growth as a character. As it is, he is too stagnant and, apart from loving Daisy (Blanchett) more as the film goes on, he never surprises me.

The beauty of Fitzgerald’s premise is that the old man is a learned old man and loses some of his wisdom as he ages (an interesting opposite to the way things really are for us) The catalyst in any story is how a character changes. Pitt doesn’t change enough to give the story the umph and gloss it could have had.

It is a neat movie, but definitely not near Forrest Gump’s success. And that’s fine, because we already have that film forever. We might ask…why was Gump so much more compelling and memorable? I appreciated both Benjamin Button and Forrest Gump as a young person (20's) and I’m sure age has nothing to do with not liking or liking either film (It’s strange but film proves to us life experience really doesn’t matter to understand and feel empathy in a story! We surprisingly relate to things easily.))

I wonder how the filmmaker’s and actors feel about the final product? I always wonder that. Anyway film in general is amazing and the creative people who made Button should, and probably do, feel pretty cool.

mollye-well said. The reverse aging process confused me too. The reason I went to the movie is that I thought the concept would be so interesting but instead something fascinating turned into something lifeless and boring.
I like your idea of him being born wiser.
I also thought that he could of been a child prodigy at the end of his life. Does his outside get younger as his inside/brain get younger? If his brain gets younger he would get smarter because he would remember his whole life and then some-a child prodigy at the end of his life and then to his death as a baby. Right? If his brain is old and body young then he would be senile as a child and should of started out his life as intelligent like you said. The movie makers didn't choose either which I think was a problem since it made the movie boring. Its like they choose to make him brain damaged instead which is why people think of gump-sweet yet dumb and that is not the premise of the movie!

cls,

I agree with how you agree. The reverse aging process had a lot of potential, but didn't quite hit the exclamation points it could have.

I was discussing the film with my sister last night and I mentioned the adolescent Button scene–one of the only, unfortunately–where he (young Pitt) is sitting with his head resting on piano, acne on his cheeks, disgruntled and reserved. The Child Protection Agency guy says that the child is experiencing some sort of "dementia." I find this age-correlation so neat! It's sort of gives a reason for why a young, precocious child doesn't know "who he/she is." In Benjamin's case, he remembers vaguely being someone else–an old man–but can't remember his earlier life, or Daisy, with any clarity. I love this idea– that the reason we ask questions like "who am I" when we're young is because we used to know who we were and, somehow, we have forgotten. It goes the same way for a baby who has just come from someplace else, somewhere we all wonder about–life before life. At least, that's what I think of when I am with a newborn baby. Where did you really come from? (that's sort of crazy)).

Anyway, my sister–a very smart movie interpreter, by the way–really enjoyed the movie and told me she would not have liked it had Button been born wise. She liked that he was an child trapped in an old man's body and that people treated him as an elderly man when he should have been treated as a toddler. Well, they're each "wiser" in their own way because of their newness to their bodies and the strange world still ahead of them.

Oh, I want to ask you! What did you think of the hospital scenes and the incoming Katrina storm? Strange huh. Makes sense because of the New Orleans setting but, what did the directors want out that detail? Sort of made me feel that rush of water from Titanic, when we see the phantom ship, and the deck, submerged, which used to be populated wth beautiful old lives.

Write me!

@cls: I have to remind you that this was a story about LOVE. I think that the creators of the movie wanted to focus on that aspect …not the scientific realities of this aging syndrome people are getting so focused on. I think the story was supposed to be one of selflessness and love conquering the odds and time. I think people are getting too engulfed in the specifics of the science and biological realism of the disease/syndrome. I also must point out that this story was in no place boring. I was wrapped up in it and crying til the end. Are you serious about it being boring because of the things you mentioned? Please tell me because I want to know, did you really stop and look at your watch when you realized that Benjamin was not born wise or didn't mentally age?? The only part that I felt was a little confusing and/or could have been better explained or cut out was his time abroad when he left Daisy and his daughter –I kept thinking that he should have stayed until he really started looking noticeably younger. But then I realized that it did make sense for him to leave then–easier to cut ties then, rather than later. However I felt that the abrupt shift of him going abroad/overseas and whatnot was kind of random and unexplained. All in all, I thought this was a great movie that made you feel, think, respond… There can always be ways to better a film but I would give it an A/A-.

Mollye,
Katrina thing- I hate to say this because I do like looking at the deeper meaning of things BUT I thought maybe this was brad pitts passion to help people in new orleans,
keep it in all our memories so we send money ( I don't think there is anything wrong with it either) Maybe he insisted on it and they wrote it in. ???

I like your interpretation of the storm and would add that she is rushing to tell the story as the water rushes in at her last moments-like button – she was faced with impending doom although momentary by comparison she knows the future and it is a disaster, a hurricane like buttons felt he was facing a disaster the worst storm ever, his life. I don't agree with this thinking though, why did he feel this impending doom all the time to the point of leaving the love of his life and daughter? So many people face illness, patrick swayze for instance and it doesn't cause people to leave their loved ones. Usually you cling to your loved ones more which is why I don't view this movie as a love story in any way or understand the character.

I love your newborn baby idea-where did the baby come from-it made me get teary eyed thinking about it. It does seem that when you are a child you almost and sometimes do grasp things from somewhere that you did not learn or experience yet -you do know. I guess that would explain a child prodigy-except they remember or retain everything…

I told my sister not to see the movie but I am glad she liked and I like her take on it. I wanted more and I am proud of thinking too much and dicing the whole thing up into either scientific, actual visual imagery and its meaning, interpreting symbolism and such and the only time I don't is when a film captivates in a way where I don't even think of anything and live in the moment. This movie left so many holes in it that I was not swept away but instead a scoffing skeptic…!

Lexi-the scientific part was a part of the reason why I did not like the movie.
The main reason iI didn't like it is this movie is NOT a love story, if it was what a sorry love story it would be. Like you stated, He leaves daisy to raise a child because he says he doesn't want her to have to raise the both of them???? He comes back 15 years letter just in time for her to raise the both of them….I don't get it, you don't get it, and actually she should of told him to get lost again. right?

As usual though, blanchett, a woman, self-LESS comes to his rescue. Do we, as women, really need more movies and shows to teach women to take care of men no matter what horrible thing they do?? Just another tired out worn old story Hollywood shoves down our throats, I have seen so many times before which is why I am looking for love stories that our respectful of women depicting mutual love and responsibility for each other and the children too. (bradd pitt should get that with his new family)

I didn't look at my watch and there were moments that touched me such as the adoptive mother. What a character she was!! She kind of stole the show in a way loving and caring for button. That fizzled though with the birth of her own child which didn't make any sense to me since she displayed the most powerful love in the story. If she was a main character maybe that would be the love story even though she had a real practical approach to love, right? Some of the special effects were fascinating, so I would give it that too.

Bottom line: I became bored when I couldn't understand or piece together things-holes in the story like the one you mentioned and numerous others. I don't enjoy entertainment that makes me angry either and I had moments of that too. and maybe they should of spent more on the story and less on awesome special effects…
hope all this ramble makes sense,
I am really glad you got so into the movie though, I wish I could have because its nice to get away…

@cls:
I like all your observations. Now I'm really curious if BButton will win awards, or more interesting for me, what kind of response the film culls in other countries when released. It has sparked some neat ideas for us already, especially its varying and swaying concepts of time.

Have you seen any other movies recently you'd recommend? I have to see at least 2 more before the Academy Awards. (personal requirement)). I'm interested in Synechdoche New York and Revolutionary Road, but I hesitate. And you should too, cls. I think it's got a lot of those woman's issues…

Let me know!

mollye.

I have not seen any good movies recently but I don't go often. I was thinking of seeing austrailia. ? It kind of looked like out of africa which has the woman issue thing-streep waits around forever until her lover dies in plane crash-oh joy but I loved the scenery and historical content but austrailia may be a longshot for me. I liked religulous which was awhile ago. To me it was funny and very thought provoking. My favorite movie of all time is orlando. I loved the book too, by virginia wolfe. Thats an old one. Button will probably win awards but it is interesting that more movie goers are choosing to see marley and me, at least as of last week. Let me know if you like the two you are thinking of going to and if you like them I will want to see them too.

@cls: I hadn't thought of seeing Australia. I'll have to check out Orlando. I haven't read much of Virginia Woolfe actually but I like what I have read very much. I will definitely let you know what I think of the other movies, if I get to the theatres in time.

@Lexi: The very edge of the movie is that it has certain elements in it that even though the plot is so unreal, ironically it made us think about the reality of life that people grow perfectly normal but not as wise as Benjamin, coming off a weird dilemma. It sorta wanna make us realize how everything moves forward and what we leave behind. The bottomline is the movie showed the truth about love in all aspects(motherly love,friendship,affectionate) and these are the type of movies that the Academy Awards should commend for.

-John Christian Conigliaro (Philippines)

I have never felt the need to post a review about a movie, but in light of the overwhelmingly positive response to a horribly crappy movie, I must have my say.

That was 2 hours and 45 minutes of my life that I wish I had back. If they had not been taking themselves so seriously, the cheese might not have stunk so bad.

There were a few good bits…but mostly, it draaaaaaagged on and on and on. Cliche I say!

The Gumpish narration could only be made worse by Pitt's Gumped out accent–sometimes Gump, sometimes Pitt….

Honestly–that was way too long for a horribly pointless movie. It's "messages" are empty words without the proper actions to illustrate them.

The Curiously Long Case of Benjamin Boring would've worked out better as a title.

If anyone lauds this movie in my presence, I will seriously smack them upside the head.
Seriously.

Margarita, very funny!! I agree, waste of time!

Guess the Academy doesn't agree with you! The most nominations by far, 13, and all well deserved…

@Tom: Then what I've suspected all along is true–the Academy is full of tasteless morons pandering to big budget Hollywood. American cinema is in the process of croaking it's rather long death sigh. Or should I say, Hollywood.

Thanks to our advanced technology, most of the true talent have gone Independent–can't find those at your local Lowe's movie theater. Have to hunt them out, because Hollywood's throwing the big money at crap, instead of directing funds (at least to exposure and advertising) to much better made, more intriguing, well acted and directed much lower budget films.

I think it also goes to show how egocentrically american the academy must be; I'm sure they feel threatened by the superb quality of films that other countries are putting forth, and want to make sure that Americans continue to get dumber by telling them that crap is tastes delicious, so they spend money to buy it, eat it, and actually think that they enjoy it because someone else told them it's good.

Ach well. The downward spiral progresses here, goes up elsewhere! The balance is shifting! Be ready, my friends! It won't be long before fire rains down from the skies, satan is in control of the USA's mass media.

I want my money back! Not to mention the time.

Could be in the running for most unrealistic naval warfare scenario of all time. Button joins crew of small, beat-up river tugboat which, somehow or other, for reasons not apparent to the audience, winds up in Murmansk, Russia just in time for World War II and then manages to sink a U-boat. And we're supposed to take this seriously!

If you're a sucker for insipid sentimentality, cardboard characters, witless dialog, and humorless, platitudinous narration, this might be just the movie for you.

margarita-I think its the jews who control usa's mass media. I think the lack of diversity hurts the industry.

Happy that Hollywood still has the capacity to surprise me with this true gem. This is Cinema.
Remindes me of a good Wine. Filed with strange and subtil fragrances and deeply emotional … but only for the mature palate. It moves without being pretensiously dramatic and it puts your life into perspective with a simple classic shakespearian story. 2 lovers continuosly separated by the impossibility of being together.
Visualy impressive and very refined storytelling.

Paulo Victor, Portugal