Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Movie Review Example

I’ve chosen to compare two wonderful works of art: short story “Curious Case of Benjamin Button” by F. Scott Fitzgerald and its film adaptation of the same name. I actually love them both, but I need to say that they are different in almost everything but the general idea.

Benjamin Button’s curious case consists in his being born old. When he saw the world for the first time he has already had the organism of a septuagenarian.  And with each year passing, he was getting younger. His tragedy lies in how he was destined to watch his loved ones getting old and dying. He has never been truly understood by anyone, he has always been an outcast.

The difference between the Fitzgerald’s story and its movie interpretation is great. They both are different in almost each single detail. The only common point of two is the fact that Benjamin was born very old and died when being an infant. Yet the movie has its own subject matter and own atmosphere different from that initially presented by the writer.

According to the story, Benjamin was born in hospital. His mother survived through the childbirth, and even though we never actually meet her it’s understandable that she is alive. Benjamin spends his childhood at the house of his parents, being treated by his father as a son. Eventually, he marries Hildegarde, young beautiful girl whom he falls in love with. He participates in Spanish-American War in 1898, has a son and consequently starts to dislike his wife who is getting noticeably older.

In the movie, Benjamin’s gotten rid of right after his birth: his father places him surreptitiously at the doors of the home for the aged. And that is the place where he spends the most part of his life. He’s born being old, yet unlike in the story he’s not mentally and psychologically mature. He falls in love with Daisy, a future ballerina and one old lady’s grand-daughter that visits her occasionally. They never actually get married, but spent some years living together and even have a daughter. Eventually, Benjamin abandons his beloved Daisy and their child not wanting his daughter to observe the process of his getting young. He travels a lot, and at the very end dies being a baby in Daisy’s hands who is an old lady now.

The movie is much more modern then the story, and in my opinion has a deeper meaning. I believe that the changes performed by the film maker are all due to his desire to emphasize the tragic element of Benjamin’s life, as well as some sort of philosophical insight into human life. The love story is much more touching, and Benjamin’s personality is observed in more details, which makes the movie a fascinating work of art.

Summary of Differences Between “Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Movie and Original Story

The Story

• Benjamin is born in 1860 (timeframe is different).
• The action takes place in Baltimore
• Benjamin is brought up by his parents, both mother and father.
• Benjamin is born with the appearance and way of thinking of old mature man of approximately 75 years.
• Benjamin’s father is running a wholesale hardware business.
• Benjamin participates in Spanish-American War in 1898, being promoted from an army volunteer to a lieutenant-colonel.
• Benjamin falls in love with Hildegarde, Baltimore’s general daughter.
• They get married and eventually have a son.
• Benjamin consequently stops loving Hildegarde, and even starts to dislike her because of her getting old.
• Benjamin successfully graduates from Harvard.
• Benjamin dies at his son’s house, being taken care of by the nanny.

The Movie

• Benjamin is probably born somewhere around 1919 (timeframe is different).
• The action takes place in New-Orleans.
• Benjamin is brought up in the home for the aged where he has been placed surreptitiously by his father; his mother dies in labor.
• Benjamin is born a baby who has an organism of a 75-year old man.
• Benjamin’s father is running a buttons production business.
• Benjamin participates in World War II as a sailor at the repair barge.
• Benjamin never gets any official education.
• Benjamin falls in love with Daisy, grand-daughter of one old lady kept in the home for aged.
• They never get married always being separated by the circumstances, but do spend some time together as a couple and eventually have a daughter.
• Benjamin loves Daisy for all his life, but abandons her realizing own fate and not wanting to cause her additional troubles.
• Benjamin dies at the home for aged being taken care for by daisy, who occasionally meets him already a little boy.