The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I have not read the short story where this movie was based but I read the publicities while it was being filmed. I have been wanting to watch this movie since then. I was so curious with the theme of a man aging backwards. Bizarre. Speculative - what if? All the more I wanted to see it when I had a glimpse of how they were supposed to have created Brad Pitt as an old man digitally.

I still had my reservations knowing that the director, David Fincher, is known for his dark, violent movies - Se7en, Zodiac, Panic Room, Fight Club (which is one of my favorites). Benjamin Button is supposed to be poignant, full of emotions. I am also trying to reconcile how a digitally engineered Benjamin Button would be able to act and convey emotions. It just might look odd.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button did not disappoint and so was Fincher's direction. Everything just connected, seamless. I know it is a long movie, more than two hours. If a movie is this long I always tend to get a little distracted halfway. I just want to get to the bottom of the story. It was not so in this movie. I watched it, listened intently to every line spoken by the actors and let the story unfold. I was waiting how Benjamin and Daisy will catch up with each other. They eventually did.

Brad Pitt was fine but hats off to Taraji Henson and Cate Blanchett. They moved me. Taraji played Queenie, the adoptive mother of Benjamin and Cate as Daisy, Benjamin's love interest. They showed different emotions without histrionics. They played it cool so to speak. The cinematography is stunning as well as the special effects.

I am biased with films with narrations in a low, melancholy voice. It just gives a more personal touch. I love how this was narrated, how a journal retold everything significant in a person's life. I am partial to films which highlights relationships created as one goes through life. People, they come and go. Some lives we touch. And others touch ours too. This film is not focused on a particular aspect of life. It is about life as a whole, the way one grasps or holds each experience.

The narration about the collision course is a masterpiece. Whether by accident or by design, there is not a thing we can do about it so it says. These are the "ifs" in a situation - if only I was a minute early, if only I called, if only I stopped, if only I said.....but the situations, the people are bound to collide.

This movie is full of quotable quotes. It's like coming from a Paulo Coelho narrative but it's not. This is more direct. If I may say also this is not for the cynics.

The movie tells us about letting go.

You can be mad as a mad dog at the way things went. You can swear and curse the fates. But when it comes to the end, you have to let go.

About some realizations.

It’s a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same. You realize what’s changed is you.

About opportunities and taking charge of what we have. These are for people who find themselves with some regrets, there is that choice to move forward.

Our lives are defined by opportunities, even the ones we miss.

For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.

This movie is profoundly moving. It tells you to capture every moment of your life and live each fully in ways big and small. This is the type of story which lingers on one's thoughts.