At the Academy Awards, Oscar is an old man, but over the years the academy has tried to make the awards show young and fresh.

That would make it a perfect opportunity for the show this year to honor a beautiful and magnificently made film that is worthy of recognition.

David Fincher’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” is a brilliant work of art. The special effects, writing, direction and most importantly the acting in this adaptation of a 1921 short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald is superb.

Brad Pitt, in the best role of his career, is perfect as the title character — a baby born as an old man who gets younger as the years go by.

Every part is well cast, especially Cate Blanchett, Julia Ormond, Taraji P. Hensen and Tilda Swinton.

Blanchett, who starred with Pitt in “Babel” in 2006, plays Daisy as an adult, the object of Benjamin’s affection. Being a great actress, it was not hard for Blanchett to play a character from her twenties to old age. There is a wonderful chemistry between Blanchett and Pitt that wasn’t as clearly seen in “Babel.”

Ormond, also a former co-star of Pitt’s from “Legends of the Fall” (1994), had no scenes with the Benjamin character, but plays a vital part in the way the story is told. Her subtle performance brings tremendous emotion in this important supporting role.

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Swinton once again proves there is no such thing as too small a part, playing a women who is briefly in Benjamin’s life.

Hensen plays Queenie, Benjamin’s informal adopted mother. With brash humor, Hensen — in an award-worthy performance — brings the heart and soul to the story.

The visual effects and makeup in this movie, so important to the believability of the story, are brilliant and not at all a distraction. One can actually believe in the possibility of the transformation Benjamin and Daisy’s characters both go through as they grow younger and age, respectively.

In his short movie career, Fincher has made several interesting and dark movies, including two with Pitt. The pair worked together in 1995 on “Se7en” and again on “Fight Club” in 1999. His outstanding 2007 film “Zodiac” was one of the most underrated films of that year.

Perhaps because the two have worked together successfully, Pitt truly trusted what Fincher was trying to accomplish, and worked with obvious ease and confidence in a very demanding role.

In “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Fincher is able to blend drama, action, humor and romance into a fully realized story line that is mesmerizing.

The film covers several important moments in U.S. history and weaves them through the very simple life of the main character.

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” will be a leading contender for many major film awards this season, and has already received many Golden Globe nominations.

Though it has a running time of almost three hours, one will not even notice, and will probably want more. It is the best movie I have seen this year.

bmemberto@santamariatimes.com