The Curious Case

Painting: Sandro Kopp

Photo: Steven Klein/W

In this sprawling (nearly three hours) literary tome of a movie, one thing really struck home: Surely this is wish fulfillment for all in the audience as well as all on the screen, looking younger as we age? Most of us have tried it, and know how difficult it is. If the movie proves anything, it is how really elusive it is to re-capture youth once it is gone - the ageing makeup and effects were much more convincing than when they tried to make Brad Pitt or Cate Blanchett look young and taut. Clearly, youth is more than a sum of its parts. Who I thought stole the show?Tilda Swinton, so wonderfully, wearily, maniacal. What was Benjamin Button about? Although it seemed to be striving pedantically after some crucial life-affirming message, I can't quite finger it. It's carefully made (13 Oscar noms! goodness!), seriously-intended, adequately-acted (except for Cate Blanchett, who seemed to be in a comedy all her own), art directed to a froth, and had moments that made me want to run home and give Mom a hug, yet it ringed empty.

And poor Brad Pitt, his beauty has truly faded from its peak in A River Runs Through It.