There is something about story telling when it is done faithfully to the actual story.  This modern film take is a drama on the original F.Scott Fitzgerald short story (a comedy) which takes great liberties and perhaps mostly because I think the writers were high on watching Forest Gump before drafting this screenplay.   That is not to say good intentions and good story writing didn't come into play in the making of this updated film version of the short story by F.Scott Fitzgerald - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. In comparison to the short story, the film is far better. How often can that be said? 

Many changes are made from the original story and aside from the first five minutes of Benjamin Button being completely unnecessary and should have been on the cutting room floor--smart plausible changes were made; from time frame, location and large plot points.  In the original short story Benjamin does not spend his life alone and is not abandoned by his father at birth.  I won't spoil the film but many other changes are made. For the purpose of a better story in celluloid the changes are a dramatic upgrade.  Yet something is wrong with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.  It is more than just the hype. For example, the soundtrack is a swansong to New Orleans; the composer Alexandre Desplat scored Benjamin's theme to be played backwards as well as forward.  That was a lot of hard work for a sublime piece. It seems so much effort has gone into this story, and it falls short of greatness despite it's efforts to be great.   It's a good retrofit of a short story, yet  Forest Gump  has been done once.  The Gump manner of story telling is becoming hackneyed.

What may be wrong with Benjamin Button is what is right with it; the director David Fincher.  Best known for intense and gritty films such as Fight Club (also featuring Brad Pitt), Fincher excels at cinematography and overall visual performances.  Could it be his non-sentimental look at life is what makes it so hard to connect with the characters in this story?  As people leave Benjamin's life, you feel for him as you should, but you never get to appreciate the lives of those that come into contact with him. Fincher is a great director, one known for detail.   But don't assume his attention to detail is perfect, just look at Fight Club and you'll know the references to Delaware landmarks are wrong.  From location and direction to cultural points.  But then again, those references were also mistaken by the Chuck Palahniuk.  David Fincher has delivered an elegant film but because it is based on a short story which is about an ordinary life going through an unordinary experience, there is not a whole lot that can be done with the story.   As a footnote, Wilmington Delaware is referenced for the second time in a Fincher film.