I have never once been a fan of Brad Pitt. Contrary to what others might think of him, I could never find that star appeal that has got everyone blown away. However, in his latest film “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, I was prepared to be proven otherwise by his outstanding acting skills since the movie had already clinched thirteen Academy Award nominations, including Best Actor for Pitt.

Yet after only the first few scenes into the movie, I couldn’t help but feel a slight twinge of disappointment. Halfway through the movie, disappointment turned into dismay and by the end of it all, anger set in. Despite its length (the movie lasted for 2 hours and 45 minutes), I had merely a fuzzy recollection of the scenes since nothing much seemed to have happened.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a tale of love between an aging woman (Daisy) and a man (Benjamin) who ages on the inside but grows physically younger. The movie began with the people of New Orleans celebrating the end of the WWI while a baby boy is born with the appearance and physical maladies of an 85-year-old man. The mother of the baby dies shortly after giving birth, and the father, Thomas Button, takes the baby and abandons him on the porch of a nursing home.

The story progresses with the man while still appearing to be 73 meets a 12-year-old Daisy whose grandmother lives in the nursing home. The audience could sense the nurturing of love between the two at this point of time and though I am aware that Benjamin is actually a young chap inside, I find that the love they have for each other is oddly disturbing.

I love you?

Another problem that I have encountered with the movie is the existence of loopholes in the plot. As Benjamin Button’s reverse aging was not kept a secret, it became a wonder to me that never once was he kept in captive by mad scientists who might rip his DNA to bits just to unravel the mysteries behind his life lived backwards. Also, I felt that the scenes did not complement each other. At some points, the movie seemed to consist of a series of short, independent adaptations instead of a whole, solid story.

As if the plot was not confusing enough, the movie stars Brad Pitt as Benjamin Button. I would say that his acting skills were average considering the fact that his make-up did most of the acting for him. However so, I felt that the efforts taken to illustrate Benjamin Button at 25 years old were simply an amplification of Brad Pitt’s wrinkles at his current age of 45 years old.

Benjamin Button at 25 years old vs. Brad Pitt at 45 years old

All in all, I felt that the “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” begun and ended on the least satisfying note.

However, like for all movies, I have successfully attained some learning points. Firstly, I have learnt that I should never assume that all movies nominated for the Academy Awards would turn out to be mind-boggling. Secondly, I should always trust my instincts to avoid anything labelled ‘Brad Pitt’ for now I have to live with a crippling illness after watching “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”: ‘Brad Pitt’ fatigue.

Written by Nur Diyanah Khamis