IMDb > The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 113 | slideshow) Videos (see all 36)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) -- Benjamin Button (Pitt) was born under unusual circumstances. As everyone around him grew older, he aged backwards, making the challenges of life such as creating friendships, finding a job and falling in love all the more difficult and heartbreaking.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) -- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - "Under the Table" Clip
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) -- Trailer for this film about a man who grows backwards
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) -- Tells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with bizarre consequences.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) -- Tells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with bizarre consequences.

Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 11% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Eric Roth (screenplay)
Eric Roth (screen story) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
25 December 2008 (USA) more
Tagline:
Life isn't measured in minutes, but in moments more
Plot:
Tells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with bizarre consequences. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Won 3 Oscars. Another 31 wins & 69 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(1542 articles)
Atomic Popcorn’s Top 10 Movies of 2009
 (From Atomic Popcorn. 25 December 2009, 7:11 AM, PST)

Very Cool Robin Hood Movie Poster
 (From ShockYa. 23 December 2009, 11:49 PM, PST)

User Reviews:
As Time Goes By more (664 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Benjamin Button (USA) (working title)
The Curious Case (International: English title) (informal short title)
El curioso caso de Benjamin Button (Argentina) (Peru) (Spain) (Venezuela) [es]
L'étrange histoire de Benjamin Button (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Загадочная история Бенджамина Баттона (Russia) [ru]
Benjamin Button különös élete (Hungary) [hu]
Benjamin Button'in tuhaf hikayesi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Benjamin Buttoni uskumatu elu (Estonia) [et]
Benjamin Buttonin uskomaton elämä (Finland) [fi]
Benjamin Buttons forunderlige liv (Denmark) [da]
Benjamin Buttons otroliga liv (Sweden) [sv]
Ciekawy przypadek Benjamina Buttona (Poland) [pl]
Den fantastiske historien om Benjamin Button (Norway) [no]
Der seltsame Fall des Benjamin Button (Germany) [de]
El extraño caso de Benjamin Button (Venezuela) [es]
I apistefti istoria tou Benjamin Button (Greece) [el]
Il curioso caso di Benjamin Button (Italy) [it]
Neobicna prica Benjamina Buttona (Croatia) [hr]
Neobicni slucaj Bendzamina Batona (Serbia) [sr]
O Curioso Caso de Benjamin Button (Brazil) [pt]
O Estranho Caso de Benjamin Button (Portugal) [pt]
Podivný prípad Benjamina Buttona (Slovakia) [sk]
Podivuhodný prípad Benjamina Buttona (Czech Republic) [cs]
Strania poveste a lui Benjamin Button (Romania) [ro]
more
MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for brief war violence, sexual content, language and smoking.
Runtime:
166 min
Country:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Shot using Viper Thomson digital cameras, also used in David Fincher's previous movie, Zodiac (2007/I). However, the close-ups and the hospital scenes were shot in the Sony F-23 cameras, as Fincher noted that the fan built inside the Viper cameras create too much noise that interferes with the dialog. more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: In the wharf scene when Benjamin joins the tugboat crew, two bridges are visible in the background. This event is prior to World War II. The first of these bridges was constructed beginning in 1954 and opened in 1958. The second was begun in 1981 and opened in 1988. Neither was there prior to World War II. more
Quotes:
Daisy: And in the spring, 2003, he looked at me. And I knew, that he knew, who I was. And then he closed his eyes, as if to go to sleep. more
Movie Connections:
References Carousel (1956) more
Soundtrack:
THAT'S A PLENTY more

FAQ

Why exactly does Benjamin age backwards?
How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
How similar is the film to "Forrest Gump"?
more
32 out of 45 people found the following review useful.
As Time Goes By, 6 May 2009
8/10
Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

I found this to be an interesting film; certainly not boring as I had heard from a few people who saw it in the theater. To me, it was simply good storytelling.

Yes, it's slow, especially by today's movie standards, but it's certainly a unique story and it's nicely filmed, acted and directed. Story-wise, it's one of those films I understand if people love it or hate it. I'm somewhat in the middle and leaning toward the positive.

For a movie that runs for over 2 hours and 40 minutes and is not some suspense or action film, it has to be pretty good to hold one's interest. I can only speak for myself; it held my interest for 95 percent of it.

I think the first two-thirds of the movie is the best. Brad Pitt as "Benjamin Button" is pretty fascinating, as is the story of him growing up from a wrinkled, old man-baby to a mid-40s guy. When he re-unites with childhood friend "Daisy" (Cate Blanchett) and becomes her lover, the film bogs down in a few spots but few people are going to stop watching after investing two hours. It picks up again, especially in the last minutes when "Benjamin" begins to finally become younger than an adult.

There's a sadness to this story, especially near the end but overall, even though it's central theme seems to be "death," I don't think it's a depressing film. It does remind us, in a big way, that the longer we're around, the more death of friends and loved ones we witness. That's just a sad fact of life. I hear about it all time with my father, who is 91 years old and has seen almost all of his friends die.

It's especially true in this story when Benjamin starts off and has a lot of old friends to begin with! "Benjamin" was an odd person to me; you could root for him, yet not admire him. He often treated people only to satisfy his desires and could have been so much more. Yet, being "a fly on the wall" and observing his interesting life, was memorable, making this a film worthy of the time invested to watch it.

In the end, the movie made me appreciate the friends I do have, and not to take any of them for granted as life passes us by so fast, no matter what direction we're headed!

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