Loosely based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald short story of the same name, the plot follows the life of Benjamin Button, from his birth as a shrivelled, arthritic baby in his eighties to his death as an infant. The tale is told in flashbacks by Caroline (Ormond) who is reading Benjamin's diary to her dying mother, Daisy (Blanchett).

This is the third time director Fincher is reunited with Pitt. They previously worked on Se7en and Fight Club together, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button shows a growth and maturity in their respective crafts. Fincher paints a beautiful and vivid picture with a lot of attention to detail which pays off. The piece sucks the viewer into the post war era that he creates. The muted shades of browns at the start give the feeling of looking a sepia photo and there is a definite sense of age. The little touches like the silent movie sketches where a man recounts the various times he is struck by lightening add to the other world feel.
 
Pitt's performance as Benjamin is brilliant, particularly early on. He manages to create the perfect balance between the child-like naivety of Benjamin's mind and the frailty of his elderly body. The scenes with Daisy aged seven played by Elle Fanning, younger sister of Dakota Fanning, are wonderful. The fantastical element of the story is captured by them, particularly when they are hiding under a table and exchanging secrets by candle light. The other strong acting comes from Taraji P. Henson who plays Benjamin's adoptive mother. She oozes unconditional love for her son despite what he looks like from the outside and this stays constant. Unfortunately, the role of Daisy limits Blanchett. She is able to show her impressive dancing skills but in terms of acting, she only really serves as the love interest and a useful narrative tool.

Yet what really lets the film down is the script. Fincher's piece starts off so well but as Pitt grows more youthful the pace deteriorates, losing all of its initial magic and charm. There are a number of quirky characters that Benjamin meets but once he settles down with Daisy the interest wanes. Although the passage of time is a smooth one and there is never a jarring from one period to another it eventually works against the film by making it feel overly long. The life that he leads is mundane compared to adventure he embarks at the beginning.

Ultimately, it is a fantastical tragedy that explores life, death and time. The heavy subject of death is punctuated by moments of comedy: Benjamin's first attempts to walk as an arthritic old man at the behest of his church preacher are hilarious. But the story does not know where it is going and ends up being too long with all the action dispelled far too early on. In the end The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is held up mainly on the strength of Pitt's acting.