The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Right now you can watch The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in Australia on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, and in the US on YouTube TV and Kanopy — and it goes further with its ideas than most genre entertainment bothers to. The length is exactly right for the story it is telling — nothing rushed, nothing dragged out. 13,830 viewers have already rated it on TMDB — the kind of consensus that does not happen by accident. Brad Pitt leads a cast that never lets the concept overwhelm the characters. Available now on Netflix — press play and find out why people keep recommending it.

Whatever else is competing for your attention this week, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is worth clearing space for. The world-building is meticulous, but it is the characters who carry The Curious Case of Benjamin Button through its more ambitious moments. Born under unusual circumstances, Benjamin Button springs into being as an elderly man in a New Orleans nursing home and ages in reverse. Twelve years after his birth, he meets Daisy, a child who flits in and out of his life as she grows up to be a dancer. Though he has all sorts of unusual adventures over the course of his life, it is his relationship with Daisy, and the hope that they will come together at the right time, that drives Benjamin forward. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett lead a cast that makes the ambitious moments land. It was released in 2008. The world-building is meticulous enough to sustain multiple rewatches, with details early on that only make sense later. It rarely drops the ball, and when it does, it recovers fast.

Viewers burned by ambitious sci-fi that could not sustain its premise should give The Curious Case of Benjamin Button a chance. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. It is a manageable watch, easy to fit into a single evening. Brad Pitt's performance is the anchor the more ambitious moments need. The world-building pays off in ways you will not anticipate on a first watch.