Directed by: David Fincher
Starring: Brad Pitt, Jason Flemyng, Taraji P. Henson, Jared Harris, Tilda Swinton, Cate Blanchett
Rating: PG-13

Brad Pitt stars in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. (Courtesy photo)

The year’s best movies are starting to reveal a shared trait. They are traditional stories told in innovative ways. In the pole position is Slumdog Millionaire, essentially a transplant of David Copperfield to contemporary India. Milk, The Wrestler, even Dark Knight all present familiar story lines that find powerfully original ways to tell themselves, as does The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, an old-fashioned epic romance told in an absolutely dazzling visual style. Whether or not it grabs you emotionally may depend on whether you’re able to embrace the special effects. I was enthralled from start to finish. Because of that I had little trouble looking past the inconsistent Louisiana accents, the sometimes overcooked melodrama, and the occasionally ham-fisted attempts at spiritual whimsy. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, adapted magnificently by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord, and directed by David Fincher with his signature visual artistry. But this is the first time a Fincher movie has a beating heart.

Benjamin Button is born as an old man and ages backward. This is the kind of tantalizing idea that is almost guaranteed to fold in on itself. But Roth and Swicord have worked wonders with Fitzgerald’s core idea (the two stories bear almost no other resemblance). Their first inspired move: the infant Benjamin, looking like a tiny, sickly old man, is raised in a retirement home. Having been abandoned by his horrified father (Jason Flemyng), the infant is raised by kindly Queenie (Taraji P. Henson). Surrounded by the elderly, Benjamin fits in surprisingly well. But his development is still that of a child. When 7-year-old Daisy arrives to visit her grandmother, she and Benjamin become instant friends. But as she enters her teen years he still resembles a man in his 60s. Daisy heads off to study dance in New York, and Benjamin goes to sea on a tugboat helmed by wild-eyed artist Captain Mike (Jared Harris). Over the next few years, he romances an aging diplomat’s wife in Russia (Tilda Swinton) and is thrust into World War II. More adventures follow, but Daisy (now grown into Cate Blanchett) is never far from his thoughts. As the two get closer in age, their affection for each other builds into a near-operatic passion.

At nearly three hours long, Fincher’s movie is perhaps a little longer than its general theme of “nothing lasts forever” warrants. For me, it validated itself as a challenge to see this idea through to the end—from birth to death. It’s easy to sense the contributions of Eric Roth, as Benjamin Button takes a shape similar to another of his adaptations, Forrest Gump. Benjamin isn’t as simple-minded a man as Forrest, nor is the film as unabashed about its heroes’ brushes with American history. But both films send their unusual protagonists on romantic journeys through large swaths of the 20th century. As in Gump, our commitment to the film relies to an unusual degree on the success of the visual effects. Whether it’s the grafting of Pitt’s face onto various other bodies or the incredible makeup applied to Pitt, Swinton, and especially Blanchett, Benjamin Button is a technical triumph, a landmark piece of filmmaking.

Brad Pitt at his best is still shy of a great actor. But the man knows how to play to the camera, and in the right role, like this one, his charisma can be potent. As Benjamin grows younger, you actually get impatient to see the pretty man emerge without makeup. The moment arrives, and you think perhaps it is worth it for Daisy to share a few beautiful years with this guy before they are faced with the passing-ships nightmare that follows. Cate Blanchett has never been lovelier—or sexier—than as young Daisy. But she also ages 50 years utterly convincingly. Like all great actors, Blanchett makes Pitt better as well. Also marvelous is Taraji P. Henson, who was so heartbreakingly good as Shug in 2005’s Hustle & Flow. Queenie isn’t as well-shaped a character as Benjamin or Daisy, but that doesn’t keep Henson from filling her with spunk and broad-shouldered decency. My only gripe: as she ages Henson slips further into caricature. Swinton and Harris both bring unbridled, appealingly theatrical energy to their roles. I wish their parts were more generously woven throughout the story.

I stumbled out of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button excited to share my joyful experience with others. The first three friends I spoke to all hated it. I mean really hated it. I think I see where they’re coming from. If you’re not suckered in early, I can imagine that the movie may come across as an endless spectacle of manipulative, computer-generated tear-jerking. For me it was simply a lovely movie experience.

Alex Manugian lives in Sherman Oaks, California. He grew up in Groton and has reviewed movies for Harvard residents for many years.