“Life isn’t measured in minutes, but in moments.” This tagline to “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” may sound corny, but David Fincher’s movie encapsulates this message in a stunningly visual, beautifully told story.
Based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of “The Great Gatsby,” it’s a romantic fantasy about a man who ages in reverse (Brad Pitt). “My name is Benjamin Button, and I was born under unusual circumstances,” Pitt narrates. “While everyone was agin,’ I was getting’ younger… all alone.”
Indeed he did. He was born a wrinkled baby with the characteristics of an 80-year-old, almost blind with cataracts and suffering from arthritis. Benjamin’s mother died giving birth and his revolted father abandoned the homely baby on the steps of a nursing home. Luckily for Benjamin, the sweet, church-going Queenie (Taraji P. Henson), a worker in the nursing home, loved him and raised him as her child.
We watch Benjamin as he ages in reverse, his face slowly smoothing and his back getting straighter as he goes from a wheelchair to a cane to his own two strong legs. The story takes us from New Orleans at the end of World War I into the 21st century and is full of secondary and somewhat trite characters as Benjamin’s life unfolds; but, the most meaningful character we meet is Daisy (Cate Blanchett).
They meet when Daisy is a young child (Elle Fanning) and Benjamin, who is actually just six years her senior, appears as a man in his 60s or 70s; but, they manage to make a connection.
The story is adequately framed by alternating between Benjamin’s life and Daisy’s daughter, Caroline, (Julia Ormond) who is reading aloud his diary to her dying mother in the hospital. This framing device could have been corny and too reminiscent of other movies; but, Fincher keeps it dynamic with scenes that are wrought with tension as a horrific hurricane is about to hit the New Orleans hospital.
We feel something strong and powerful is coming that can’t be stopped, which is exactly what the film is about: time cannot be stopped and you can’t stop events from happening.
This message is repeatedly told in interesting and vivid metaphors, such as the nursing home resident who continually informs Benjamin that he was hit by lightning seven times just by doing simple things like walking his dog or driving a car.
The most emotional story that demonstrates this message, however, is the heartbreaking love story between Daisy and Benjamin. As we watch Daisy grow into a wrinkled old woman and Benjamin turn into a little boy, it shows that the timing in life is everything. The digital effects and make-up that allow the characters to age (and de-age in Pitt’s case) are absolutely stunning, as well as the whole film’s beautiful cinematography. I only wish their romance was developed a little more to better understand how and why they felt so connected.
Nevertheless, Pitt and Blanchett give emotional, stirring performances in a film that shows us how precious life is because it can’t be stopped. Yet, while we can never stay the same, it reminds us that we can accept the changes in order to reinvent our lives.
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