By: Holley Sinn

Verdict: Approved

Once in a great while, a film comes along that addresses the most terrifying of topics in a way that still feels hopeful. F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" does this successfully, most likely because it's filtered through the lens of director David Fincher. Only in a world twice as beautiful as our own, complete with just a slight touch of magic, can man's greatest tragedy seem so poetic.

The story begins with abandonment. Tiny Benjamin is left on the steps of a New Orleans nursing home by his father because of his unusual appearance. The home's kind-hearted manager, Queenie, takes the baby in, and a doctor's assessment suggests the child was simply born old. Queenie, played by Taraji P. Henson, is unable to conceive, so she raises Benjamin as her own, in the company of the home's seasoned residents.

As Benjamin's body grows, his spirit ages forward, but physically, he is getting younger. His friendship with the granddaughter of a resident raises some eyebrows, but the young Daisy can see the youth in her wrinkled friend despite his appearance. Circumstance separates the two friends, but their bond is sealed despite the distance between them. When Benjamin is a teenager, he is mobile enough to take a job as a deck hand on a fishing boat which allows him to see the world and collect some typical, youthful experiences. His first meaningful sexual encounter is with the wife of an English dignitary who, despite physically appearing younger than Benjamin, actually acts as a Mrs. Robinson figure in his life.

Throughout his travels, Benjamin still dreams of Daisy, the red-headed ballerina who was his childhood playmate. After a terrible incident involving a German submarine in the midst of World War II, Benjamin returns home to New Orleans where he finally learns the identity of a kind stranger who had taken an interest in him earlier in his life. In doing so, Benjamin also learns his own true identity, and comes into possession of a large sum of money. All the while, he is growing younger, and somewhere far away, Daisy is growing older until the two finally wind up in the same place, at the same time, and in the same stage of life, both physically and emotionally.

Brad Pitt brings a child-like innocence and curiosity to Benjamin Button at all ages. His character doesn't feel sorry for himself, in fact, he seems to possess the wisdom that comes with age, even though his spirit is aging against his body. He is able to see the best in others and make sacrifices when necessary without a second thought, and this lightness and strength of spirit positively impact those who surround him.

Not since "Pan's Labyrinth" have I experienced a film so bittersweet yet so reassuring. The story is incased within a reminiscence shared by the bedside of a suffering old woman who is desperate to share a secret with her daughter before she passes. The film begins, ends, and is peppered throughout with death, but the idea enveloped in this beautiful story is that birth and death are not really so different. They are both equal to the beginning of a journey into the unknown. In the words of Benjamin's adopted mother Queenie, "You never know what comes for you," and perhaps that's not such a bad thing.

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is not only Holley-Approved, it's Holley-Recommended. It's rated PG-13 for some sexual content, war violence, and of all things...smoking....but I think that rating is more applicable in that the film runs a full 3 hours. I don't know many kids under the age of 13 who can sit still that long. However, if you can carve out 3 hours, and you should, then you will not be disappointed, and perhaps you'll leave the theater feeling like I did - encouraged and peaceful.