The Curious Case of Benjamin ButtonSuppose the journey of life were like a ride on a train or a bus, and as our lives progress, we face ahead toward our final destinations. We soak in the sights and experiences of what passes by through the windows of our souls until we are called upon to disembark--often without warning--as our journey ends. But suppose that for some--like Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt), who appears to age backwards through life via some quirk of fate--that journey were seen through windows facing the other way; what would that do to our perspective?
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Benjamin's journey through the 20th century begins with his birth at the end of World War I, but The Curious Case of Benjamin Button starts with both a framed narrative and a story about a clock that tells time in reverse. Beginning at the onset of Hurricane Katrina, a woman named Caroline (Julia Ormond) is spending time with her terminally ill mother, Daisy Fuller (Cate Blanchett), during her last hours. Daisy shares a parable about a blind clockmaker named Monsieur Gateau (Elias Koteas), whose son is killed in the war, and who builds a clock for a train station that goes in reverse as a memorial--to remind people about how it would be preferable if we could rewind time and reclaim the lives of all those lost. Although this melancholy story is about time measured in reverse, it underscores the ubiquitous presence of death--that it is inescapable and creates a rippling effect for those left behind. Such is the case with Daisy as she reveals the presence of Benjamin's diary to Caroline. Caroline reads the diary to her mother, and her reading is overtaken by Benjamin's narration of his unusual life, though there are occasional breaks where Caroline comments on the events. What makes Benjamin's life so unusual on the surface is in his preternatural way of aging in reverse. He is born resembling an old man, albeit an infant-sized one, who grows to adult size and progressively appears younger and younger. There is no science behind this anomaly, but what affects Benjamin is meant to be a metaphor both for how each of us as individuals experiences life in our own unique ways, and a commentary about how we view the inevitability of death. Even the start of Benjamin's life is marked by death, since his life comes at the cost of his mother's. Horrified by his son's appearance, Benjamin's father and button tycoon, Thomas Button (Jason Flemyng), runs out of his home in New Orleans with the newborn intending on drowning the infant. Instead, he leaves him with some money on the back steps of a boarding house for the elderly, where he is adopted by a kindly black woman named Queenie (Taraji P. Henson), who passes him off as her sister's child. Yet she is told that Benjamin won't have long to live; subsequently, she enriches his life as much as she can, and raises him to be courteous and well-spoken. Benjamin is also very intelligent, and relishes reading and keeping a diary of his adventures.
Benjamin's diary is the audience's primary portal into who this man with a mysterious malady is. It chronicles his adventures and the people he meets along the way. Each person he comes across is like a teacher to Benjamin, and from this breadth of human experience, Benjamin's life (and story) becomes richer. In a sense, his travels and relationships recall those of Forrest Gump from the movie of the same name. Both men are exceptions and because of their respective individual circumstances, they get a perspective on life that is deeper and more unique than many others. The narrative purpose of this is to afford these films the opportunity to showcase the life and times of various people and places throughout the 20th century through the lens of a dynamic protagonist. For example, Benjamin signs on with a tugboat captain named Mike Clark (Jared Harris), who reveals that he always wanted to be an artist, and subsequently used his own body as a canvas. During an extended stay in Russia, Benjamin has an affair with a refined woman named Elizabeth Abbott (Tilda Swinton), who laments that she once tried to be the first person to swim the English Channel, but was thwarted by the waves. And as with Forrest's Jenny, Benjamin often comes back to Daisy, with whom he formed a romantic attachment at a young age--young for her, anyway. Theirs is a complicated relationship; once she returns to New Orleans after having been accepted as a professional dancer in New York City, she attempts to seduce the still emotionally underdeveloped Benjamin. His refusal comes across to her as a rebuke, and this drives a wedge between them. When he comes to see her perform on stage, she flaunts her libertine lifestyle to spite him. It isn't until she suffers the debilitating result of her hubris--struck by a car while dancing in an alley--that she reconsiders a life with Benjamin. Yet even though these two lovers have known each other for so much of their lives, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button suggests that they may yet remain incompatible with one another. Benjamin calls attention to this when they begin the process of having a baby, citing that Daisy would ultimately be stuck raising the both of them. He holds to the difficult position that what is best for his daughter would by necessity break Daisy's heart. He struggled for years being apart from her, trying to drive away the pain via his inheritance from his estranged father, sailing around the world and finding brief yet unsatisfying comfort in the arms of other women. But after Benjamin leaves Daisy, he journeys the world, continuing his odyssey of learning all that humanity has to offer. His great tragedy comes when he finally regresses to adolescence, and his memories fade along with his stature. Like many tales of exceptional people from cradle to grave, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button encourages its audience to grasp life with both hands, and know that each short life on this Earth is a unique blessing, and to live it means to understand as best as possible what that also means for all of the rest of humanity.
Recommended for: Fans of a touching drama about life and death that spans across key events in the 20th century, and explores the human condition by way of an exceptional individual. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is appropriate for most ages, but is best enjoyed by people who have the benefit of life experience, and can identify with Benjamin's journey, exemplified largely by special people more than by special places or events.
Benjamin's diary is the audience's primary portal into who this man with a mysterious malady is. It chronicles his adventures and the people he meets along the way. Each person he comes across is like a teacher to Benjamin, and from this breadth of human experience, Benjamin's life (and story) becomes richer. In a sense, his travels and relationships recall those of Forrest Gump from the movie of the same name. Both men are exceptions and because of their respective individual circumstances, they get a perspective on life that is deeper and more unique than many others. The narrative purpose of this is to afford these films the opportunity to showcase the life and times of various people and places throughout the 20th century through the lens of a dynamic protagonist. For example, Benjamin signs on with a tugboat captain named Mike Clark (Jared Harris), who reveals that he always wanted to be an artist, and subsequently used his own body as a canvas. During an extended stay in Russia, Benjamin has an affair with a refined woman named Elizabeth Abbott (Tilda Swinton), who laments that she once tried to be the first person to swim the English Channel, but was thwarted by the waves. And as with Forrest's Jenny, Benjamin often comes back to Daisy, with whom he formed a romantic attachment at a young age--young for her, anyway. Theirs is a complicated relationship; once she returns to New Orleans after having been accepted as a professional dancer in New York City, she attempts to seduce the still emotionally underdeveloped Benjamin. His refusal comes across to her as a rebuke, and this drives a wedge between them. When he comes to see her perform on stage, she flaunts her libertine lifestyle to spite him. It isn't until she suffers the debilitating result of her hubris--struck by a car while dancing in an alley--that she reconsiders a life with Benjamin. Yet even though these two lovers have known each other for so much of their lives, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button suggests that they may yet remain incompatible with one another. Benjamin calls attention to this when they begin the process of having a baby, citing that Daisy would ultimately be stuck raising the both of them. He holds to the difficult position that what is best for his daughter would by necessity break Daisy's heart. He struggled for years being apart from her, trying to drive away the pain via his inheritance from his estranged father, sailing around the world and finding brief yet unsatisfying comfort in the arms of other women. But after Benjamin leaves Daisy, he journeys the world, continuing his odyssey of learning all that humanity has to offer. His great tragedy comes when he finally regresses to adolescence, and his memories fade along with his stature. Like many tales of exceptional people from cradle to grave, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button encourages its audience to grasp life with both hands, and know that each short life on this Earth is a unique blessing, and to live it means to understand as best as possible what that also means for all of the rest of humanity.
Recommended for: Fans of a touching drama about life and death that spans across key events in the 20th century, and explores the human condition by way of an exceptional individual. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is appropriate for most ages, but is best enjoyed by people who have the benefit of life experience, and can identify with Benjamin's journey, exemplified largely by special people more than by special places or events.