The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Today I watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button while waiting for a job interview somewhere in the south, and I cannot help but marvel at how this movie actually brought me to tears. What would YOU do if you lived your life backwards?

The manner of how it was filmed, very much like Forrest Gump, is quite obvious, considering that Eric Roth is the same author who penned Gump. But the poignancy of the story is so moving that for one moment you would think and say, "please stop growing young".

The movie started when the father, played by Jason Flemyng, shocked to see the grotesque baby his wife bore him, left the frail Benjamin on the steps of an elderly home and was found by Queenie, played by Taraji Henson. His mind was that of a toddler, but his features, his frail body, resembled that of an 80-year-old man. The movie started picking up in his "teens", after joining a tugboat en route to Russia, and after meeting the wife of a politician/spy (Tilda Swinton). There he had his first real taste of a love affair, although it was cut short, at the onset of World War II. Throughout the film, he stumbles upon Daisy, from a sweet 5 -year old, to the diva ballerina who lives her life - New Yorker style. Their attempt, however, to make a harmonious relationship together did not happen until they were able to meet halfway - Pitt now looking very much like himself,and Cate Blanchett looking very womanly and desirable in one of her best performances ever. The most poignant scene for me, would be the moment when the infant Benjamin closed his eyes while the elderly Daisy looked on.

While watching the film, one can wonder, whether it was better to live your life the way we should - from birth to old age, or live your life backwards, exploring the world until you're too young to comprehend the beauty of life. But the beauty of the life lies in the performances of Pitt and Blanchett, who both breathed life in the characters of Benjamin Button and Daisy.

It's a beautiful movie...my five sweet candies are all in this film.Beautifully made. A sweet tear-jerker indeed.