This past weekend I caught THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, in my yearly quest to see all the Oscar nominated films before the big dance. It’s an epic tale of love, aging, and the impermanence of life. And yet I didn’t LOVE it. Why? I blame David Fincher, Eric Roth and Robin Swicord, or some mix of the three, and their obvious quest for OSCAR GLORY.

CAUTION — SPOILERS A GO-GO!!

It is unquestionably an incredible movie. Good films attempt to move us. Whether through scenario, performance, or production, cast and crew work together to elicit an emotional reaction from their audience. That reaction may be romantic passion, anger, agitation, frustration, sadness — essentially the best and worst of what it means to be human. Perhaps the most truthful example of this for me out of the latest crop of Oscar hopefuls is SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, which hits you at gut level with all of the above, seamlessly and without respite. But there’s a line. When the filmmakers cross that line, a moment arises in which I have the thought, “Ah, look what they’re TRYING to do there. They WANT me to think/feel X.” When it works, you never see the wheels turning. When it doesn’t work, you feel a bit betrayed. Either the filmmakers don’t trust themselves or the story to effortlessly convey the themes, or they don’t trust their audience to get it. And that makes me angry.

Hence the case with THE CURIOUS CASE… For most of the film, I was right there with them, wrapped up in the very human struggle, the spectre of death, the truth of real life dramas that simmer for decades before spilling over. And then comes the hummingbird device. Benjamin sets sail on a tugboat manned by the drunken-est of drunken Irish sailors, Captain Mike (played impeccably by Jared Harris, even if I caught maybe one word in five he spoke), who relays a story about a hummingbird appearing far out at sea just after the death of a comrade. Benjamin listens intently. Amazing that a hummingbird would ever come out that far at sea, right? Amazing creatures those hummingbirds! Could it have been the fallen sailor’s spirit? What a fantastic story, right? Except my immediate first thought was, “Hmm, I wonder how long it will take for a hummingbird to show up on screen…” And I was not left waiting too long. The hummingbird made a couple of key appearances, screaming DRAMATIC DEVICE with such intensity that it made me nauseous.

Now, maybe I’m being too tough on these guys. Nice story, makes sense, what’s wrong with a cute little bird? The problem is that it immediately took me out of the film, revealed in glistening detail every spoke and screw of the screenwriters’ wheels turning, and left me devoid of any real emotional when the aforementioned little guy popped up. Ham-handed. Unacceptable for the ‘best picture of the year’. I felt like this territory had already been tread. Haven’t I seen this before? Had something like this worked better in the past? I remembered FORREST GUMP, which won six Oscars in ‘95 and was nominated for seven more. Bubba and his shrimp. Forrest’s love of running. And when I told a friend that CURIOUS CASE reminded me of FORREST GUMP, she said “You’re like the fourth person to say that to me!”.

So the filmmakers must’ve studied their Oscar scripts, right? I did some research. Co-writers Eric Roth and Robin Swicord have penned many huge films, including MUNICH, ALI, MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA and…FOREST GUMP. Huh?! That’s right, Eric Roth co-wrote FOREST GUMP, and is currently in development on a sequel. So the comparisons make a heck of a lot of sense — Eric Roth was ripping himself off, in order to recapture that Oscar magic.

Why didn’t David Fincher, an excellent director, recognize this and nip it in the bud? Again, that irresistible Oscar pull. The man’s directed huge movies – SEVEN, THE GAME, PANIC ROOM, and FIGHT CLUB – an all-time classic. And though he’s been praised through many other wins and nominations, these are not the sort of films the Academy smiles upon. So I’m sure that given the opportunity to helm this baby, he was gonna put it to bed with the best advice of those around him, including 5-time Best Picture nominated uber-producer Kathleen Kennedy (MUNICH, SEABISCUIT, THE SIXTH SENSE, THE COLOR PURPLE, ET: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL). I understand the pull, I guess I just wish he had seen this sour note in the symphony, because it keeps the film from true greatness. All because of a little hummingbird. I guess that’s why the films that I’ve enjoyed the most lately don’t seem to aspire to anything but being good, awards be damned.