‘Button’s’ depressing digression: life to sore subject.

The first thing one notices while watching “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” is the similarities between it and “Forrest Gump.” There is no doubt the two may seem indistinguishable on the surface: each chronicles the life story of a man decidedly different from those around him. Both revel in the triumphs of life, and the endurance of the human spirit amid everyday tragedies such as war and death. Heck, even the films’ respective main characters love to say “mama” as often as possible.

These resemblances are well-founded: the screenwriter for “Forrest Gump,” Eric Roth, wrote the script for “Benjamin Button.” While it would be easy to pass off the latter as a “Gump” knock-off, that does the film a terrible disservice. In the capable hands of director David Fincher (“Fight Club,” “Panic Room”), “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” explores avenues of life that were either merely hinted at or completely omitted in the short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

“Button” revolves around Benjamin (Brad Pitt), an odd man who seems to get younger as time passes by. Born with, among other things, severe cataracts and extensive arthritis, he seems to be on his death bed at birth. But, as Ben so often reminds us, life had other plans. He eventually settles down with his childhood love, a beautiful dancer named Daisy (Cate Blanchett).

When it comes down to it, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” is a good, old-fashioned fairy tale. It is drastically disparate from a majority of the other awards-season flicks, full of wondrous imagery and fantastical elements. Thankfully, the script doesn’t use the fantasy angle as a crutch. Realistically, the film works.

Nearly every conceivable question or problem with Button’s condition – aging in reverse – is addressed. If he marries, won’t he and his regularly-aging wife meet halfway? Won’t people begin to notice and eventually question his truly remarkable circumstances? And how will Ben and his wife anticipate the inevitable-his eventual decline into adolescence late in life?

Button, played flawlessly by Pitt, is a sight to behold. With a seamless blend of special effects and make-up, Pitt embodies the character. Even when Benjamin is, say, in his teens on the inside (but 80 on the outside), Pitt’s face and voice are lending their talents. As his youth begins to take shape, Pitt’s swagger and unquestionable good looks come to the foreground, but it never detracts from the movie. If anything, it adds qualities, like when his wife mentions it isn’t fair that he should get better looking while she begins to show wrinkles.

Humor is another thing Fincher and Roth handle well, giving us relief from what can very often be a depressing topic. When Button is born, an elderly woman looks upon him and, instead of being shocked simply says “Heavens, he looks like my husband!” An assortment of appealing characters amble in and out, among them, the cooky Captain Mike (a great Jared Harris), who frequents brothels and bars with Benjamin.

At more than two and a half hours, “Benjamin Button” is an epic. Fincher, who has directed several movies focused on crime – ranging from the Zodiac murders (“Zodiac”) to a Dante-inspired serial killer (“Seven”) – has tackled something completely different here. His two previous collaborations with Pitt, the aforementioned “Seven” and “Fight Club,” both yielded gratuitously gritty results. This film strays from the bloodlust and nihilistic qualities present in those efforts, committing to film a life, which, while certainly dark, can at least find some sort of absolution in death.

Grade: A