Some Thoughts on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I heard a lot of “meh” about Benjamin Button before I watched it. Many called it “Forrest Gump 2.” I cvould certainly see the similarities, but that‘s like complaining that two action movies from the same guy have car chases. This thing with Gump and Button is merely Eric Roth’s thing. And I liked Button better. It didn’t blow me away nor did it put me to sleep. It was an interesting movie, a long story about two people who CAN NOT grow old together. Because one of them is growing younger. Technically, the movie is a fucking marvel. Fincher’s direction is excellent. It’s a beautiful movie. All that is well deserved praise you’ve read elsewhere. I’ve heard the Slashfilm guys say that the aging gimmick comes across as more of a handicap, much like Gump’s leg braces or his low mental ability, and not as an old man growing younger. But I like that. Button is not born an old man, he’s born with a body that ages in reverse. He doesn’t pop out 90 years old because he has no life experience yet. The aging thing is entirely physical. Inside, he’s a kid before he’s a man and then instead of hitting old age, he hits puberty and adolescence and all that. It’s certainly interesting as he goes from a baby with old age afflictions to a perfectly healthy baby at the end of his life. I’m sure people wanted more sci-fi out of this premise and it is interesting to think of how this would really play. And the film does skirt the childhood weirdness by putting him in an old folks home right away. Button truly does live a life that is backwards in many ways, but also normal in many ways, because inside he’s not old. Perhaps my favorite line in the film is when he’s 7 and goes to a faith healer. He’s asked how old he is and responds, “Seven, but I look a lot older.” And that’s what it’s about. Maybe the scariest aspect of the film to me, is that growing young is far, far scarier than growing old. You don’t know what to expect. Sure, there are similarities, but we take comfort in growing old. We know when to expect. We grow old with each other, but Button’s curse of being younger while we get older is terrifying. And that’s what the movie is really about. It may not say things perfectly, but it’s not about a grown man popping out of a woman, it’s about how growing old is how it’s supposed to be. We’re not meant to stay young forever. Or get younger.