by Rianne Hill Soriano

Created on: June 13, 2010

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a delicate undertaking. Stylistically showing "a span of history and carefully orchestrating an evolution of style and mood" sum up the long narrative with words like "people are born to die... and do things, fight, and fall in love in between."

The film provides a meditation on mortality and time's inevitable passage amidst the fleeting sweetness of love and the tormenting pain of human suffering.

Technical brilliance and impressive performances front this intelligent and exquisitely mounted film. It gives an interesting perspective on the human conditions of aging, loss, and mortality. It connects people's desire to transcend the inevitable constraints of time.

Based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald short story about a man who ages backwards, this far-fetched fairy-tale about the freakish birth of an infant born as an old man captures the sadness and exhilaration of life and the melancholic ideas concerning mortality. It is a reminder of the transience of life and the temporariness of the mortal flesh.

The film has a scope and reach of almost a century. It injects a number of American historical landmarks and tragedies within the story and let them blend gracefully together. It's a moving, lyrical tale that keeps its light and dark elements with a speculative and enthralling fantasy about what it would be like to age in reverse. Its eloquently epic sweep is backed up by its richness and intelligence. And amidst the few excesses and the pacing on the latter part of the film seemingly yielding to what I can personally brand as "film production pressure," The Curious Case of Benjamin Button still succeeds in leaving that kind of intentional wistfulness, morality and mortality plays. It's sentimental fantasy through the use of awkwardly mannered whimsy is both rambling and gorgeous.

What makes the film stand firm is its achingly human traits as a cinematic offer. Director David Fincher tells an imaginative story with a solid eye for atmosphere and detail. He indulges with his noticeable flair for lengthy films with enough sense and wonder that you tend to forgive any one or two missteps. He is witty enough in utilizing the novelty, sentimentality, and emotional poignancy through visually arresting shots and in putting the right dose of humor to the film's serious length.

Interestingly, the film's bleak message can even evoke feelings of hope and wonder. Indeed, this adaptation from Fitzgerald's short story explores life, death,

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