What if you were eighty-six years old when you were born and got younger every year? Would you look at death differently? Would you look at love differently? Would people view you differently?
The CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON starring Brad Pitt tries to answer some of those questions. Based loosely on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Oscar nominated worthy roles by Brad Pitt as Benjamin Button, Cate Blanchett as Daisy and a marvelous supporting role by Jared Harris as Captain Mike the movie is to long at two hours and forty-five minutes.
Benjamin's mother died while giving birth to him, overwhelmed with the ugliness of his new baby Thomas Button abandon's Benjamin, leaving him on the door step of a nursing home. Queenie played marvelously Taraji P. Hanson finds the baby and raises him as her own together with her husband Tizzy. The African-American couple manage the nursing home where Benjamin learns death is normal.
As Benjamin grows younger he goes to brothels, learns to drink, learns the value of the dollar, goes to war (where he learns death isn't always normal), falls in love, first with a married woman played marvelously by Twilda Swinton, then with the beautiful Daisy. As Daisy ages, Benjamin gets younger. Their love grows.
We see the story unfold as Daisy's daughter (played beautifully by the beautiful Julie Ormand) reads from a diary to her dying Mom in a hospital in New Orleans as Hurricane Katrina approaches.
I start with one negative football because of the length, but I give one football each for Pitt, Blanchett, and Harris, I add another for the cinematography, another for the screenplay, another for the questions it had me asking myself. Five footballs.
The questions that the movie had me asking myself? If I lived life in reverse how would my life have been different? Were there moments during my life that if I had made a different choice my life would have been better or worse? Do I now view aging differently? I am pondering those questions as I write this and if I get the courage may blog about a couple of moments in my life that I wish the decision I had made would have been different.
A couple of questions for you and admittedly they are very difficult ones. If you had the choice of being born young and then aging like we do now or being born old and then getting younger which would you choose? Does aging scare you? If so how?
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6 comments:
I've heard all the critics raving about BENJAMIN BUTTON, but somehow the whole idea sounds creepy to me. Plus unless it's a really really special movie, like the LORD OF THE RINGS ones, I automatically relegate anything much over 2 hours to the "rent it" category.
I can't imagine being born old, though I guess aside from looking creepy, it's much the same as being a baby, in terms of being helpless and dependent. But no, if I had the choice, I'd rather go through the natural process of aging.
Aging doesn't scare me, because I've done it already and it's not so bad. {g}
Becoming dependent and having mental decline does scare me, but I don't dwell on it. Yet.
I agree with Pat. I'll stay with the current process. Either way, we die in the end. The aging process does scare me. Seeing what my Dad went thru, and now my Mother. (sigh) Since I have no children... they final aging process does concern me. But, worring about it won't change anything.
I guess I have to weigh in with Pat and Kaye, at lesat on theory, since I've not seen the movie. There was a book written on the same theme and I did give some thought to whether it would be easier to start from old and go to young, if you had the wisdom of the years.
In answer to your question, Bill, there have been several times I've looked back and decided that even though I made some stupid choices, I wouldn't change them, because they got me where I am now and it's not a bad place to be (okay, a couple exceptions, but those aren't the direct result of *my* choices) I honestly can't think of anything I would change.
Like Kaye, I do sometimes have concerns about the aging process, particularly as I care for Mom and realize that Himself and I have no children who will care for us, if we hit the same snags she has. We're going to be on our own. OTOH, all things remaiing equal, we're both eligile for the Masonic Home in FL and, since we have no one to whom we "need" to leave any material goods, it won't matter if we need to hand over what little material goods we have. I guess that makes us more fortunate than most. Mom could go to the Masonic Home in IL, but she'd have no family to visit and care for her, so I'd as soon we keep her in her own place as long as possible. I'm not sure that makes anysese --maybe I'm being selfish in some ways, but I'm not ready to had he care o0ver totally to a distant entity?
Hi Pat
The idea is a little creepy at first but as you get into the movie the idea becomes less creepy.
Both my mom and I chose the way we do it now rather than reverse.
I'm with you being alone and old and not having anyone to watch out for me scares me. The process really doesn't.
Bill
Hi Kaye
So far the only that would prefer to be born old and then get younger was mom's caregiver.
I'm also not excited about it watching first dad and then mom, just like you.
Bill
Hi Pat
That makes all of us would stay with the way it is now.
I have nothing but the state that will care for me.
I think the elderly want to stay in their home as long as possible.
And I think we want to defer to their choices.
Bill
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