Now Playing: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Here's something I don't usually do - go on a movie date with my Mom. It was nice change of pace from watching movies with boys, let me tell you. We went to watch The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in a packed theatre on Boxing Day.

What's there to say about Button? It has all the makings of an award-worthy movie: A-list actors/acting (Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton and Brad Pitt, though it is Blanchett that steals the movie); an adapted screenplay based on an American literary master's work (F. Scott Fitzgerald happens to be one of my favourite modern writers); excellent directing (David Fincher in a departure from his Se7en and Fight Club days); a score, full of melancholy piano, that's to die for. Clocking in at 159 minutes, this isn't a movie for the easily bored. It has a slow unravelling and a sultry pace that's echoic of the New Orleans summer nights where the story seems to live, if not begin and end. And while everyone probably knows the plot before walking in, it isn't the plot that drives the movie - it's characters themselves. Fitzgerald is always very good at characters and Eric Roth is quite successful at capturing that.

The movie really is excellent; I guess my only concern is that it doesn't have anything sets it apart from from the rest of the pack. Besides the eponymous element upon which the entire story turns, I don't know if there's anything that's more or less outstanding than the rest of its Golden Globe company. I suppose I will have to consider the question again after watching the rest of the field. That being said, as a standalone review, Button was quite enjoyable and rewarding to watch. 4 out of 5 stars.