The title of this film is deceptively innocent; personally, when I hear the word "curious," I envision relatively harmless hijinks as committed by a (damn dirty) ape. However, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is anything but innocent, though at times this is not so much the fault of the movie as it is that of the modern conditions surrounding its release. In a day and age when incidents of pedophilia are rampant, there is something unsettling about the depiction of an elderly man hiding under the sheets with a young girl that is not his granddaughter, or that of an old woman kissing a toddler on the lips (particularly when said toddler is her former lover).Of course, such instances seem ever more disquieting when the viewer is unaware of the context in which they take place. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which is loosely based on a 1921 short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, relates the life Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt), a man who was born elderly and proceeds to age backwards. The story is told by Benjamin via his diary, which is being read by Caroline (Julia Ormond) to her dying mother, Daisy (Cate Blanchett). As it turns out, Benjamin is Daisy's old flame, and the result is that Caroline's reading takes on a certain awkwardness, particularly when she comes across passages that bring to light the fact that Caroline's mother frequently threw herself at Benjamin and bragged to him about her various sexual exploits with other, older men.

Indeed, the entirety of the film is vaguely disconcerting; Benjamin, though appearing to be a typical southern gentleman, occasionally withholds his true age as a way by which to partake in otherwise forbidden activities (e.g., going to a brothel and accepting drinks from well-meaning acquaintances).

In reality, though, there's nothing wrong with the film's dark tone. In fact, Benjamin's story, which could have easily come across as a mere gimmick were it sugar-coated, is instead more effective because it is treated with a heavier hand. The characters are believably flawed, displaying fickleness in the face of love and practicing intentional pettiness. And, the startling, ominous imagery-like the resurrection of soldiers on the battlefield by a clock that runs backward-lends a sense of gravity to a film about the implications of age and the impermanence of life.

Also, despite being almost three hours in length, the film never flounders, partially due to excellent acting by the entirety of it's extensive cast, especially that of Tarajii P. Henson as Benjamin's adoptive mother and Tilda Swinson in her role as a dejected Englishwoman who has long since shelved her aspirations. And although many of the characters appear only briefly, the movie expertly works their respective stories into the film's plot so that the viewer feels as though he knows them as extensively as Benjamin does.

The movie does have its sticking points, though, especially in regards to the decision to set the film in modern-day Louisiana; while Caroline is reading Benjamin's diary, rain announcing the impending arrival of Hurricane Katrina beats on the windows of Daisy's hospital room. However, the problem with offhandedly including Katrina is that the storm carries so many implications that it is impossible to just make mention of it without providing a clear sign as to why, exactly, it has been included. Unfortunately, this is exactly what the movie's makers did. Is it present to emphasize how quickly life can change? To remind us of the fleeting nature of stability? And, if so, couldn't any storm have been used in place of Katrina, which conjures up an entire convoluted series of symbols on its own when mishandled?

However, regardless of this prominent misstep, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is still far better than the majority of those films that have been released this year. But, even though I know this movie requires a certain suspension of disbelief, I still find it hard to believe that a man aging in reverse during the 1990s would go unnoticed by science or the omnipresent tabloids.