By Izah Morales
INQUIRER.net
WHEN time ticks counterclockwise, how would life be?
This is the challenge faced by Benjamin Button as his life unfolds in reverse. In the middle of World War I, Benjamin is born in an 80-year-old man’s physique. His shocking condition leads his father Thomas Button (Jason Flemyng) to leave him outside a home for the aged. In the caring hands of Queenie (Taraji Henson), Benjamin finds a home among the elderly. There, he finds the love that makes him “grow” young.
Brad Pitt plays the protagonist’s role of Button in David Fincher’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” Fincher’s film is an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1920s short story. In the film, Benjamin Button was physically old but mentally young. But in Fitzgerald’s story, he is physically old and mentally old as he is capable of talking right after being born.
Fincher begins to tell the story through the use of foreshadowing techniques. Symbolisms are presented, giving the audience a hint of how the story will unravel. It segues to the narration of the protagonist’s life as recounted by Caroline (Julia Ormond) as she reads the diary of Benjamin Button. Telling the story in the first person point of view gives the audience an idea of how the protagonist sees, thinks and feels.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button mixes drama, fantasy, mystery and romance with its cast including Cate Blanchett (Daisy), Elias Koteas (Mr. Gateau), Tilda Swinton (Elizabeth Abott) and Jared Harris (Capt. Mike). The film earned five Golden Globe nominations for best picture, best director, best actor, best screen play and best original score.
At the end of the film, surely, viewers won’t forget this line: “Did I tell you I was struck by lightning seven times?”
If you are curious to see an aged Brad Pitt and the graceful Cate Blanchett together on the silver screen, watch this film. But if you don’t have the luxury of time, the film’s three-hour runtime may not suit you.
The movie’s pace is somewhat slow, yet fittingly similar to the ticking of the clock of Benjamin Button’s life.
See the movie trailer:
