movie - the curious case of benjamin button

instead of using the trite, "the curious case of," in the title of the f. scott fitzgerald adaptation of the story about a man who ages backwards, they might have simply chosen a heinleinesque title such as; "human frailty is," or "life happens." in any case the story of benjamin button is a sweeping epic, which provides plentiful insight into the condition humanity.

benjamin button is at once a thoroughly implausible and ridiculous device, (a man born old who becomes young thereby living his life in reverse,) and a fable for mankind.

there are things worth taking exception to in this film, such as benjamin button's, (brad pitt,) lack of outward emotion during the most crucial moments of his life. we are to know that he feels the immensity of the moment, that he is injured beyond perhaps anything we ourselves might know, but the actor provides no insight. such is pitt's performance. it is understated and underwhelming. he seems a pro as button. he is consistently of the same manner and he feigns a believable new orleans accent. he is altogether-ly competent in the role and yet, not scintillating, not touching, not insightful, not...something.

but then who would want to take exception to anything in this movie? it is as charming as modern films can be and its fable-like quality is in the message and the wisdom the story conveys.

you see benjamin button could have had his life chopped up into 10 year increments and then had them put on shuffle and the message would have been as clear. gibran or confucius could have written this fable as they seemed to be concerned with precisely the same ideas. the thing is, at every stage of life we encounter problems. at every stage we have our frailties. when button was old he was weak and unattractive to women. at the same time he possessed a certain wisdom. when he was young he was undeveloped in some ways and he had little experience to draw on. at the same time he was the picture of good health and hope sprang eternal. in the middle or prime of his life, he was healthy and able in most every way but he was painfully aware of the peak of the mountain's role as the beginning of descent.

we remain alone in this world as the only creature who is aware of its own end. death is everywhere in the curious case of benjamin button. throughout the movie characters duck into view then just as quickly depart. the story is told from the perspective of button's journal account of his life as read to his true love, an elderly daisy, (cate blanchett,) who lays in a new orleans hospital, in her deathbed, at the onset of hurricane katrina. button's mother dies in one of the opening scenes too, as she gives birth to this strange, wrinkly, hoary baby. there is a cavalcade of death really, throughout, and the movie is something of a rumination on the nature of life through the study of death.

in the end we learn that death, like life, simply is. it is not something to be feared. it is not something to be hated. it just is and while young people may run around feeling like the world is their oyster and they have a leg up on everyone who is not of them, they merely display their ignorance and will likely suffer the indignity of feeling the opposite emotions when they reach the elderly years. when old people look down their noses at youth, as if it is indeed wasted on the young, they merely play small.

i do not think i am giving anything away when i tell you that benjamin and daisy meet in the middle of their lives at which point, they stand on equal footing. it is a flash in time. in their primes, deeply in love, making the most of their time together, they remain oppressed by time itself. as with death, they are aware of the fact they are marching in opposite directions and nothing is static. benajmin remarks in his journal about how during this season they practically lived in a certain room of the duplex they had bought, "on that bed." the point is benjamin and daisy knew what was happening and they were not unworthy of the love they shared. they made the most of it. they revelled in one another. they spent all of their time together. haunted as they were by time they did not stop to take stock of it or think on it much. when they did, daisy tells benjamin she knows he is afraid of the future and he replies that he never intended to hide that fear.

similarly, we should not dwell on the temporal nature of our lives. while we must come to terms with it, with our ultimate demise, our ultimate sadness, we have to embrace what we have while we have it. the only way to minimize the pain of the endgame is to have gotten our money's worth while we played. benjamin conveys this idea through his world view. he is acutely aware of time and sees all things through the perspective time provides. if he had a mantra it would likely be that for everything there is a season.

blanchett, as daisy, is typically phenomenal. to see her on screen is to see an actor in her prime at the top of her profession. her pitch and balance are amazing. similarly, tilda swinton is excellent in a smaller role.

the curious case of benjamin button is a fairy tale for a post modern world. it is charming in every respect, sumptuous to look at, lovely to listen to, and warm to take in. while the two hours and 45 minutes run time might have been pared down a bit, i don't know why anyone would want to do that. this movie reflects our lives and is entirely worthy of a few of our precious hours.