Movie review: "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button" (2008)

The gist: The remarkable character of the title is born with wrinkled skin, arthritis, cataracts and all the other typical wear'n'tear of an 80-year-old man. Not expected to survive, he somehow continues to grow and, over the years, his body gradually becomes more youthful. He is aging in reverse! From his queer anti-childhood, Benjamin has a connection with a girl named Daisy, and in the prime of their lives, for the brief period when it doesn't matter that time is dragging them in opposite directions, they find love.

Selling points: From BB coming bawling into the world on November 11, 1918, as New Orleans celebrates the end of WW1, to Hurricane Katrina hitting that area late in August 2005, viewers are treated to a helluva lot of faces and places in 159 minutes. The gripping, kill-or-be-killed encounter in WW2 between an American tug and a U-boat deserves a mention. And the leads... Benjamin and Daisy are (predominantly) played by Brad Pitt and Cate "The Great" Blanchett, who as well as possessing the physical gifts and acting range to portray their characters across the decades, have a definite chemistry. You can't blame 'em for going at it like rabbits. The supporting cast's terrific and regular comic relief is provided by an unlucky human lightning rod.

It's kinda like: A substantially altered version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1922 short story of the same name, the brushes with history of "Forrest Gump" (1994) and, above all, a reminder of why life happens in the way that it does.

Final word: The unnatural order of things.

[Australian cinema release date: December 26.]