The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

5/19/2016

One of Fincher's masterworks--though I like others better. He's definitely one of the only people alive who could have succeeded with this very intriguing story. There are moments--when Benjamin's coming into his own, both with Tilda Swinton's character and with Cate Blanchett's--that are amongst the finest and most invigorating I have ever seen in cinema. I'm curious how I'll find it when I rewatch it in a few years. I have the impression that as I come to terms with age and gather more wisdom in my own skin, this story will only grow in my heart and appreciation--for both the highs and the lows. That is a spectacular magic trick for a movie to do--and Fincher's downright full of them.

2/4/2022

This movie is in my top 10 movie list in life. It is a cinema achievement that may never be outdone by 'anyone'. Considering that this masterpiece was shot digitally in 2007, it is miles above any CG effort since. For those of you that haven't seen it: "SEE IT". Besides a great story (with one flaw), this film makes illusion and simulation become reality. The one flaw: I have great respect for David Fincher, and I am going to go out on a limb and say that he must have been aware of this discrepancy, but went ahead with the story-line as written anyway. ( I hope that's the case). Benjamin Button was born "old", and regressed backwards to die an infant. The flaw in the story-line (and it's a big one), is that as he regresses to youth, he begins to have dementia (Alzheimer's symptoms)

7/2/2026

A baby is abandoned by his petrified parents when it is born with all the features of an elderly man. Fortunately, he finds a home with the caring "Queenie" (Taraji P. Henson) who is somewhat adept at looking after seniors - just not ones this tiny. It doesn't take "Benjamin" long to assume a more adult size but he still exhibits all the frailties of a disablingly arthritic old age whilst having the emotional maturity of a bairn. They all realise that as he gets older, he will get younger until eventually he will regress back into infancy and then essentially die of young age - assuming fate doesn't intervene in the meantime. Had he had the benefits of the presumed wisdom of his years at the start, then his life might have been different but he was learning in reverse and so was for a long