In this film in an early scene an inventor presents a clock to the community which runs counter-clockwise. Not long after, Benjamin Button is born, and his life goes full circle, born as an old man of eighty four, and leading over the years to his eventually becoming an infant. This is a fascinating story to be sure. The actors are all in good form, particularly Peter Donald Badalamenti ll as the first born Benjamin, Brad Pitt as him afterwords, Cate Blanchett as Daisy, and Taraji P. Henson as Queenie, the woman who becomes Benjamin’s mother after his natural mother passes on.
Queenie encourages Benjamin to live a good life and to pray. There are a few utterances of “Sweet Jesus” which is not meant in an irreverent way. However, there are some profanities in the film. There are good themes in the movie, including showing respect to the elderly, being true to one’s heart, and changing when one learns he or she has made a mistake. Benjamin’s father wants nothing to do with him when he is born, considering him to be a “monster” as he calls him. But regret catches up with him later on.
The story focuses on living life in forward motion, but understanding it backwards. The progression of the story from World War l to 2003 and Hurricane Katrina is intriguing as well. Unfortunately, there is some strong language in the film, along with some strong sexual situations, including the visitation to a brothel. For these reasons, we are unable to award our Dove “Family-Approved” Seal to the movie.