There’s something inherently wrong about turning a short story into a nearly 3-hour feature length film. Such an adaptation, if faithful to its limited source material, is bound to struggle against tedium, and this is where ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button‘ fails.

This type of story – sharing the basic premise of recounting one’s life with films such as ‘Big Fish‘ and ‘Forrest Gump‘ – needs to survive on its characters and their charm. The story in this case is quite linear, and so simply shuffles off to another adventure as soon as we feel we are getting to know any of those appearing on screen. If these are individuals that are to have made an impact on the story’s protagonist, they should equally make an impact on those of us watching the story unfold.

Yes, the film has its charming moments, it has scenes that might draw a few tears, but ultimately it feels slow and uneventful – a symptom of trying to do too much with story arcs.

A film like this might be saved by the acting, but even here things disappoint. While Tilda Swinton is fabulous, Cate Blanchett still seems to be channeling her over-the-top role from ‘The Aviator‘ and Brad Pitt doesn’t seem to know what to do with the role once he grows out of old age.

Watchable? Yes. What the film does with special effects to make Pitt appear seamlessly older than his years in the early stages is incredible. Deserving of 13 Academy Award nominations? Only in a lackluster year for film.

C