Rating: ***/5

‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ is a curious movie indeed. Despite being built upon a fantastical plot of a man who is born old and gets younger as time passes, the movie is actually quite realistic. Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) is born a baby who looks like an old man, with all the conditions that plague the elderly, such as arthritis, dementia… Interestingly as he grows up, he starts getting younger (both in appearance and physique). This movie’s about him and the love of his life - Daisy, played by Cate Blanchett. Eventually, despite all odds, he does have a child with her, and sadly, he left mother and child knowing that eventually he would become a child himself as he grew older… They did meet again as he grew older in a child’s body… He regresses into a baby and is taken care by her… The saddest point of the movie was when Daisy held him in her arms (as a babe) and she said something like ‘and I knew at that point that he knew who I was’… That was right before he closed his eyes and then was no more… Can you imagine being a world weary, old man stuck in the body of a powerless, speechless baby?!

The entire film revolves around the theme of how ‘nothing lasts forever’, something quite bittersweet and romantic (if you’re into that sort of romance)… I think that instead of concentrating on how good things do not last forever, it serves to remind us to treasure what we have. It encourages us to make full use of the time we have on our hands, and to savour whatever life offers us at this moment in time.