The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Before we went to this movie, we had heard feedback from other sources that this film was bad. That it was supposed to be boring, unimaginative and above all highly moralistic. Well, the 3 members of CS, the 2 of BeWelcome and the one poor soul who was labeled "miscelleanous" all agreed that these negative reviews are not true. Sure, the movie is long and a bit too slow. But if you want to tell the life-story of a man who sees his life going backwards, it's normal that you take your time.

The amazing thing about the movie is that in the end, you are not amazed! The way the transition of Benjamin is showing, from an "old" baby to a "young" OAP is so believable done that you start thinking about the way we all deal with age. The acting is outstanding, the pace is slow but determined and the direction of David Fincher is to the point. Yes yes, I realize it's not Se7en or Fight Club, and the special effects are non-existent. But do you really need a movie like this, about true love, about dealing with age and pain and loss to benefit from exploding cars or difficult crane shots?

I don't think so, I think there is beauty in the simple things of life. And this movie demonstrates it.


Quote from Benjamin Button:

Benjamin Button: Along the way you bump into people who make a dent on your life. Some people get struck by lightning. Some are born to sit by a river. Some have an ear for music. Some are artists. Some swim the English Channel. Some know buttons. Some know Shakespeare. Some are mothers. And some people can dance.

On the day that Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans, elderly Daisy Williams nee Fuller is on her deathbed in a New Orleans hospital. At her side is her adult daughter, Caroline. Daisy asks Caroline to read to her aloud the diary of Daisy's lifelong friend, Benjamin Button. Benjamin's diary recounts his entire extraordinary life, the primary unusual aspect of which was his aging backwards, being born an old man who was diagnosed with several aged diseases at birth and thus given little chance of survival, but who does survive and gets younger with time.