Life can present us with bizarre situations that we deal with in the best way that we can. Most movies seek to portray the stories of life in a dramatic fashion. One story, in particular, focuses on a man who is born under unusual circumstances. The movie is called The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and it’s about a man named Benjamin Button who is born in 1920. Although Benjamin is born the size of a normal baby, his physical means show signs of a ninety year old man. Benjamin is born with cataracts, arthritis, and wrinkly skin that makes his tiny body look like he’s extremely old. Although his body looks old, his mind starts as almost a blank slate, like any normal baby. So while his mind develops normally, his age increases but his appearance ages backwards.

In the beginning, after Benjamin is born, his mother dies. His mother tells her husband to take care of Benjamin and to give him a good life. His father takes one look at Benjamin, sees what he looks like, and becomes aggravated. He picks up Benjamin and runs away with him, only to drop him at some random woman’s door step. The name of this woman is named Queenie and she takes care of Benjamin well into his early years when he begins to talk and walk, all the while his body ages backwards.

After Benjamin has been alive for almost fifteen years, with less wrinkles and a developing mind, he meets a young girl named Daisy and begins to take an interest in her. As Benjamin gets younger, he decides to sail as much as he can on the ocean. He returns home years later, even younger, and meets Daisy again. She is obviously a lot older and more mature. They go out on a date and spend a lot of time together. Several years pass before Benjamin and Daisy meet again. At this point, Daisy and Benjamin finally look the same age. They end up dating once more and they even get married. They have a kid and seem to be happy together. However, problems begin to surface when Benjamin continues to look like he’s getting younger and Daisy looks like she’s getting older. Although their minds are equally developed, their physical looks move in completely opposite directions. Benjamin begins to feel old as his looks continue to age backwards. The rest of the movie deals with the rest of Benjamin’s life as his looks move backwards and Daisy’s struggles as she grows into old age.

The entire cast of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is absolutely fantastic. Not only are they completely versatile with having to change looks and attitudes throughout the years, but they keep their characters consistent despite the lapses in time.

The leader of this phenomenal cast is Brad Pitt, who plays Benjamin. For this part, Pitt had to wear tons of makeup and work with the special effects supervisor to put an old man’s looks on a child-sized body. Pitt also changed his voice to a Southern style to help create a sense of the South. I have to say that this is one of Pitt’s better performances. The audience fully feels the interesting struggle that Benjamin is faced with and they feel bad for him. Pitt brought his character’s confusion and uneasiness to the screen with a performance that will leave you overwhelmed. Brad Pitt was nominated for an Oscar for this performance, but lost to Sean Penn in MILK.

Cate Blanchett plays Daisy, Benjamin’s love interest. Blanchett used quite a lot of makeup in this film as well, to make her look like a young adult or a middle aged woman. I am truly surprised that Blanchett wasn’t nominated for an Oscar for her performance in this movie. This performance was one of THE BEST in the category for females in the past year. Blanchett worked well with Pitt and did an excellent job at struggling with the emotions of being in love and having life throw curve balls. Blanchett was the perfect choice for the character of Daisy and I loved watching her in this film.

Taraji P. Henson played Queenie, Benjamin’s “adopted” mother. Her love for Benjamin was a strong bond in the story line and, as the audience, we could feel her love float off the screen. She was nominated for an Oscar for this performance as a supporting role, but she lost to Penelope Cruz. As a mother, Henson acts with ideal perfection and great poise.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was originally a short story written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, who wrote The Great Gatsby. The writer of the screenplay for this movie, Eric Roth, did a brilliant job in bringing Fitzgerald’s themes of life, death, time, and the idea that nothing lasts forever to the script for this movie. It was interpreted and brought to the big screen by an outstanding cast. The film’s technical qualities like makeup, costumes, cinematography, and visual effects, were beautifully done and were the icing on the cake to this amazing movie. Seeing this movie will help you to understand that you should enjoy what you have while it lasts. The ending that will leave no one with a dry eye.