The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1921 short story about a man who ages backwards, has been adapted into a sprawling three-hour epic... by David Fincher. Yes, David Fincher of Fight Club and Alien³ fame.

There's no doubt that it's a "curious" choice for Fincher (see what I did there?), but this is an engaging film that resonates with genuine emotion.

Told in flashback, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button charts the title character's life from his birth at the end of the first World War and subsequent abandonment by his horrified father, to his difficulties in finding his place in the world, and ultimately his coming to terms with growing younger as everyone he knows is getting older and dying. It's a lengthy film where, for once, the runtime is justified. Eric Roth's screenplay ensures that Button's life is ripe for exploration; the character's fairy tale-like condition never feels like a gimmick.

Brad Pitt roles tend to fall into one of two categories. There are the parts he was born to play (such as his previous Fincher collaboration, Fight Club) and the parts that ooze "Hey, hey! It's Brad Pitt!" stunt casting (like the celebrity love-in Ocean's series or the disappointing Burn After Reading). Benjamin Button lands firmly in the former category. It is, quite simply, an Oscar-worthy turn in what is probably an Oscar-worthy film. It's a tremendously tricky role to pull off but Pitt gives the character a hefty dose of humanity. Button's condition could easily be played for laughs (and there are more than a few in the film, including an amusing running joke involving a man reminiscing about being hit by lightning seven times), but Pitt wonderfully balances the tragedy of Button's condition with a beautiful depiction of his unrelenting joie de vivre. You really believe in his affliction.

Cate Blanchett plays Daisy Fuller, Button's main romantic interest, whom he meets early (i.e. late) in his life and with whom he becomes romantically involved when they approach the same age. Blanchett may be the film's only significant blight. There are times when she suits the part, but the chemistry between the pair isn't quite stellar. I never got a genuine sense of why Daisy was "the one" for Benjamin.

What's interesting is that we are never shown an attempt to diagnose or cure Button's disease. Only twice in the film is he seen in the presence of a doctor – once as a child with the symptoms of an old man and once as an old man with the symptoms of a child. The decision to not focus on the condition itself but rather on living with it pays off. Attempting to explain the disease would have only weakened the film.

The picture also contains some truly standout scenes, including Button's first brush with unnatural death during the second World War and a fascinating sequence in which he details the unfortunate chain of unconnected events that leads Daisy to be hit by a taxi (even if there's no way Button could have known about these).

Technically, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is just as impressive. There's a terrific soundtrack and some gorgeous cinematography, both of which befit the eras that the film spans. The effects used to achieve Button's aged look early in the film are particularly convincing.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a melancholic allegory on life and death, equal parts poignant and uplifting, and a worthy addition to the Oscar race.