Movie Review: The Curious case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Director: David Fincher; Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Taraji Henson; Based on: The Curious case of Benjamin Button by Scott Fitzgerald
We often speak about the benefits of diversity and insist on being inclusive and sensitive to differences. The Curious case of Benjamin Button, is a story about one such difference that is hard to overlook, despite best efforts. Benjamin is born old with failing organs and is abandoned by his father. He is adopted and raised by Queeni, a care taker in a shelter home for the elderly who considers him a miracle child. As time spins by and when he is only expecting to die any day, life surprises him and he gradually discovers that he is aging backwards. Benjamin meets some extraordinary people who come along as he grows uniquely, old and young at the same time. It's a movie of a kind meant mostly for adults because of it's complex theme; Brad Pitt's eyes are compelling and he brings the character to life, despite the (relieving) lack of drama in the script. In a melancholic world where love triumphs over most of the oddities of life, the movie left me pondering over several questions beginning with "what if?"
