The Curious Case of Benjamin Button tells the story of a man who grows younger as he ages. Benjamin (Brad Pitt) had an odd childhood (if that's what you may call it) -- born having the physical attributes of an old man and being around the elderly in a nursing home, raised by foster parents. As a pre-teen with the appearance of someone in his 70's, he met a young Daisy Fuller. They parted ways though, when Benjamin decided to go with the tugboat crew he worked with.

With the ongoing wars, Benjamin experienced the harsh realities of life at an essentially young age. He met his biological father, Thomas Button, not knowing it was him; fell in love and had an affair with a married woman; and had seen death in a different way than what he was used to. Benjamin then decided to move back to his hometown, New Orleans, back to the nursing home. He then got to know more about himself, then decided to pursue his love for Daisy (Cate Blanchett). And when the two finally got together, life became just a bit more complicated.

 
I did not fangirl over Brad Pitt in this movie; not a bit. TCCoBB was too much of a Dementor for me to even notice how good-looking the actor was. For one, there were too many deaths in the movie -- deaths that came naturally, but had great impact because of the characters' relationships with Benjamin Button. The movie gripped Jer's and my heart all throughout. My tears literally went on cue, and it had been so long since this last happened in a moviehouse!




The first scene that clenched my heart was that between Benjamin and Mrs. Maple, one of the oldies at the nursing home.

BB on Maple (narrating): It's funny how sometimes the people we remember the least make the greatest impression on us...

Mrs. Maple: It's hard to grow younger, because you'll see people die before you do.
We're meant to lose the people we love so we'd know how important they are to us.

And after saying those lines, the next scene was Mrs. Maple on the rocking chair who just died in her sleep. Hindi talaga ako naka-get over agad dun. Ang sakit sa puso! Irita!

"Goodnight" is the new "I love you." This started with the woman Benjamin had an affair with. Brit woman Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton) set the rules: they don't say ILoveYou. They said "Goodnight" to each other instead. Consistently, I never heard those three words in the movie. It was "Goodnight," even to Benjamin and Daisy, til the end. It was Goodnight with passion. And for some effin' reason, it hurt! hahaha leche.

If in other movies, sunsets set the mood, in TCCoBB, watching the sunrise did it. One was when Benjamin took his dying father to the lake house to watch the sunrise. The other was when he took Daisy to the same place after her accident. It was so serene na mapapareflect ka rin. Hmp.

When Benjamin and Daisy finally got together, it was real love, and it was fun to watch them. hahaha. So when it got to the point when their physical appearances finally met, it was one big moment. They were at Daisy's ballet studio, then Benjamin went "I want to remember this. We finally caught up with each other," while looking at the mirror, arms around Daisy's shoulder. That was sweet, but Daisy got older as Benjamin grew younger, so they'd move past each other again.

And their story just got more heartbreaking when Benjamin declared that Daisy couldn't raise him and his daughter at the same time. So he left. And they lived separate lives again. And when BB came back, his daughter was already a teenager, and he, he looked 25. She never got to know him as her father, until BB died an infant.

Benjamin Button was narrating his story as his daughter, Caroline, read his diary to her mom (Daisy). Usual narration, nothing special, until it got to the latter part of the film when it was revealed that Caroline was Benjamin's daughter. She grew up knowing a different dad, because Benjamin chose to leave since he cannot be a father figure to his daughter. Caroline then saw the postcards that BB was supposed to send her for each of her birthdays. And for every year, puro "I wish I could have been there" ang essence ng mga sinulat ni Benjamin.

And I just had to document those scenes diba? Total downers, but I loved them. At ang daming quotable quotes na sobrang life lessons. O baka kami lang ni Jer yun, coz we were so into the movie. hahaha.



The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was almost 2.5 hours long, but it was engrossing from beginning to end. Shots were scenic pati. Given the premise that Benjamin aged in reverse, we'd just have to let go of disbelief and take in the concept of that disease. (Kahit far-fetched na siya sa ending ng movie na nakaka-"woooo wag ka na!" na.) After all, the movie was more about life, and how it'd turn out depending on how you decide to live it. As Benjamin Button said, "Our lives are defined by opportunities, even those we miss."