The Curious Case of Benjamin Button believes that many people would like me to see the first reaction of the name of the movie. They would think that this is a strange thriller, suspense or even a horror film, and the director is also the master of the famous suspense film collection. ——David Fincher, I am convinced. However, things are unpredictable. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is a feature film released in 2008, directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Depit and Cate Blanchett. This is a successful exploration of David Fincher, who has always been famous for suspense films, in the field of plots. It leads the audience to think about life from a suspenseful perspective and method, with the same perspective and technique as David Fincher. Since the film was released, it has been well-received and has repeatedly been nominated for many international film awards.
First of all, let's talk about the plot of this movie. The plot of the whole movie can be summed up in one sentence, that is, the dying grandmother Daisy introduces her daughter Caroline to her biological father. But behind such a simple summary, concealed the 166-minute movie capacity and the life of her father Benjamin Button. The story begins with Caroline reading a diary to her mother on the hospital bed. The content of this diary is Benjamin Button's "wonders". It is said to be "wonders", but it is also common. Unlike ordinary people, Benjamin Button has been a freak since birth, old and wrinkled. This caused him to be abandoned by his biological father Thomas Barton as soon as he was born, while his mother died of dystocia.
Everyone will be born, old, sick and die, but no one has ever reversed this order. The film is to subvert the common people's understanding, let the protagonist Benjamin grow up reversely, and his body will age like a wood at birth, which makes people suddenly wonder whether this kind of life will be different. The film will tell you that there is no difference in this kind of life, but it makes Benjamin a little different in terms of mentality. Benjamin was adopted by a kind black woman named Queenie. Quinnie's influence on Benjamin not only saved his life, but also gave him the warmth he was deprived of by freaks at birth, and taught him to be grateful for life and not to blame others.
The world is unpredictable. It is her teaching to Benjamin to remind Benjamin that his birth may be a miracle. When Benjamin was 7 years old, he met the most beloved person in his life-Daisy. The first appearance of Daisy gave Benjamin a brilliant eye. She is glamorous, innocent, and as beautiful as her appearance, is her soul that is not contaminated by the world. Daisy can feel his inner youth through Benjamin's old body. She is willing to share bedtime stories with Benjamin, and is willing to do adventurous things with him-sneaking under the dining table at night to light a match and whisper, without experiencing material things The closeness of the two outer hearts is destined to be unforgettable.
As he got older, there were some new changes in Benjamin's orderly days. Someone took him to see the world outside the asylum, he also tried to work on the boat, the captain took him to the brothel to experience the joys of wind and snow, etc. These things that ordinary people are used to, seem precious to him, so he has repeatedly In the diary, every day he experienced was regarded as the happiest day in life. What grows with experience is Benjamin's gradually younger body. This made Quinnie shocked when he returned to the shelter again, and it also made the goodbye Daisy feel incredible. Daisy was no longer that naive childish kid, she was already slim, but this time Benjamin decided to go outside and go to sea with the Chelsea to be a brave sailor.
He promised Daisy to send her postcards wherever she went. After going to sea, in Russia, Benjamin met another different woman-Elizabeth, and had a fascinating love story with her. Surprisingly, when her daughter told Daisy on the hospital bed about this experience, she asked her if she wanted to skip it. She replied affirmatively, no, she was very happy that someone could warm him. Therefore, for Benjamin, Daisy is definitely not Diaosi's admiration for the goddess, but the selflessness that she loves him to the bones. After going around, Benjamin and Daisy still came together, even though they were both over half a hundred years old and weather-beaten, it was the most suitable love for them to meet at this time. Before, Benjamin told Daisy that nothing is eternal, and Daisy replied that there is nothing eternal. Now, the old Daisy tells Benjamin that nothing is eternal, and Benjamin will answer that my love for you is eternal.
Benjamin left a large sum of money after Daisy gave birth to Caroline and chose to leave. Because he hurtI am afraid that her shrinking body will also become a burden to Daisy, who cannot take care of him and her daughter at the same time. And he went to the world by himself, met different people, felt a different world, tried new things, and summed up the true meaning of life-no matter how old you are, you should start to do it if you like it. The film has completely sublimated the main theme here. I talked about the ordinary life can be expensive, but the valuable thing is that you have to do it if you want. At the end of the story, Benjamin, whose body returned to a baby state, died safely in the arms of the elderly Daisy. Extraordinarily harmonious, warm and beautiful, what fate deprived him of will eventually return.
Next, let's talk about the theme of this movie. This film conveys to us the theme of being grateful for life from the standpoint of Benjamin, who was aging from birth. Just as Benjamin said, there are gains and losses. God deprived him of his youth when he was born, but gave him an extremely optimistic attitude. A dying person, every day of his life is a gift, so he is always grateful. It is this kind of despair that will die at all times that makes him full of gratitude for life. He has no time to blame and complain. In his eyes, any little beauty is enough to be his best.
Therefore, after Thomas Barton met him, even the extremely kind Quinnie could not forgive things, he did not resent and retaliate, but chose to accept and be grateful to help him fulfill his last wish. At the same time, the old man in the asylum always inadvertently talked about the fact that he had been struck by lightning seven times but escaped from the dead. Therefore, he understood the truth that every day of life is a miracle. The root of the "fu" of "There must be happiness" should be here. Compared with people like them who have encountered hardships, we in real life seem to be extraordinarily greedy-we already have the most precious thing of life. Not only do we not feel lucky because of this, we will complain about pain because of the things we can't get in life. , Think about whether we have any misunderstandings about life.
In addition, on the basis of understanding the value of life, the movie has sublimated the theme. Life is precious. Let us not worry about things outside the body. What should we do in life? I think this is the last thing the film wants to express, that is, keep trying, as long as you want to do it, it is never too late. The old lady in the shelter who can play the piano well, even though no one listens to him, she also enjoys it. She didn’t give up the idea of learning piano because of her old age. There is also the grandmother who is bright and beautiful every day. She is very old and does not go out on dates. She has no important people to meet, but she still wears gorgeous clothes and delicate makeup every day. When Elizabeth became the first woman to conquer the English Channel, she was also very old. ; The male lead Benjamin, when he was very old, went to India as a backpacker. These are things that we can do as long as we want, and it should not be stranded because of old age. What is aging? It's not that our age is increasing, and it's not that wrinkles are coming, but our hearts are no longer young.
Finally, let's talk about the artistic technique of this movie. As mentioned earlier, David Fincher is a famous suspense film director. Many famous suspense blockbusters such as "The Lost Lovers", "Fight Club", "Seven Deadly Sins" and "The Girl with Dragon Tattoo" are all produced by him. . Of course, this film cannot be called a suspense film, but in many details, the shadow of suspense can still be seen in this film. For example, the director deliberately hid the truth on the matter of revealing that Benjamin was Caroline’s biological father. When Lin nearly finished reading the diary, she realized that Benjamin was her father. It avoids the plain and straightforward narrative, and portrays the image of Benjamin's great father, giving people a sudden enlightenment and a clear touch.
In addition, the most important clue is that the core plot of Benjamin's birth as an old man reflects the director's unique way of thinking different from ordinary people. Normal people can't even imagine that there will be people whose life trajectory is from old people to babies. It can be seen that the director's imagination is bold. And the application of this main clue is very fascinating and makes people think deeply. At the same time, the main line of love between the reverse growth male protagonist and the normal growth female protagonist also captured the touch of countless audiences. The great thing about their love is that as long as the heart is confirmed first and the body is late, it is worth waiting for how long. David Fincher is a director who is full of fantastic ideas and caring for humanity. As he himself said, he wants to bring people into his movies in a way he doesn't want. His methods usually give people unexpected surprises. This movie is a great story full of suspense under the lens of David Fincher!
