Today I've spent three hours trying to understand why "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" had so much buzz around it and, to be honest, was not able to find the answer. I agree that the picture is beautifully shot, the make up and costumes are superb, and the cast is memorable, but, as far as the rest of it is concerned, the movie is a real snoozer.

I know that "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is based on Scott Fitzgerald's novel short story of the same name. Since I didn't have chance to read it, I can't make a comparison and don't know how close the creators of the movie were following the original. However, I do believe that, taking into consideration a very interesting premise, it could have been more exciting film to watch had a few changes to the script been made.

According to IMDB, the movie is a drama, romance, and fantasy. I certainly agree that TCCBB makes a good fantasy, however, I see it as neither very dramatic, nor romantic enough. Perhaps, it has to do with the fact that I found the range of emotions demonstrated by Brad Pitt to be not much larger that of a tea spoon. Throughout the whole movie, he did nothing except looking somewhat confused.

In general, I found his portrayal of Benjamin Button to be very much like that of Joe Black, my favorite Brad Pitt's character, with lots of prosthetics being the only difference. However, while Joe Black's surprised and somewhat confused look was very appropriate taking his story into consideration, it simply didn't cut it in Benjamin's case. I also did not care much for Cate Blanchett's character, who I found to be rather plain.

As I have previously mentioned, I don't know if "TCCB" was supposed to be a recreation of the book. If the creators, in fact, were following the original story very closely, a number of shorcomings could be forgiven. If, however, they were trying to create a touching story of epic proportions based on an unusual life of a man who is growing younger, it could have been done much better.