Cate Blanchett did all of her own dancing in this movie (except for just a few turns)! She's 39! AMAZING!

Oh, I loved this movie, by the way. Very beautiful, very compelling, and heart wrenching at times.

SPOILER:

However, what the crap was up with Katrina? What did that have to do with ANYTHING? How did that help the story? Was I supposed to feel something different knowing that all of the people in that hospital would probably die too? I guess it could be about how life is fleeting and nothing lasts, but I thought it was kinda crappy and weird of them to include Katrina.

Cate Blanchett is so fine! :

*spoil*
did they say it was katrina? I thought it was just supposed to be a standard hurricane. I also thought there was supposed to be symbolism in the counterclockwise motion of the turn. Also, there was a point where she says "it looks like it's gonna pass us" then later it still hits. Was that just something that just happened, or was it also supposed to mean something?

i'm confused about it as well.

Man am I glad someone brought this up. :) Of course everyone is going to think I asked you too!!

SPOILER:

yeah, it was Katrina. It was specifically mentioned in the news broadcasts they showed. In the end, I decided to leave it out of my review because I was afraid I would ramble on. But since you asked. :)

I think it does have to do with death, since I think that's a MAJOR theme of the movie. But I also think its important that this was a major natural, God-caused event that we are all familiar with. It took so many lives and we all know it; we all watched it. I think it also makes the scenes on Lake Pontchartrain more impactful too in a weird way, since that lake is ultimately what cost so many lives. Even though we're watching Daisy die from old age, we also have to face the fact that life is so fragile that even the young die.

It was a way that made the mystical, fairy tale quality of Benjamin's story harshly based in our very own reality. And I think it was pretty subtle. Most of the people I know were like Daniel and almost entirely missed that it was Katrina. So at least they didn't pound it home. The subtlety of this movie is one of my favorite things.

But Daniel, nice mention on the counter clockwise. Very cool. ;)

I loved the movie too, but there was something that seemed to be missing from it that prevented me from ranking it as one of my favorite movies of all time. I don't know exactly what was missing and I can't seem to put my finger on it, but I think it might have had something to do with the backwards aging. I found my self thinking about the aging in literal terms and not as an element of the story. I couldn't stop thinking about how realistic it looked, and wondering how were they going to make him look as he gets older throuought the entire movie. I think I was so focused on that, that I didn't get invested in the movie and charachters on an emotional level as much as i should have.

Also, the backwards clock was a really nice touch. It added that sence of mysticism that I love. I think showing it at the end when the flood hit was supposed to show that like the creator's intention at the end of WWI we wish we could turn back the clock and bring some of those people we lost back.

Good points, Biglazy. I agree!

Well, I'm glad you liked the Katrina bit, Tina. That makes me feel better about it. I just thought the story did a great job by itself about talking about the frailty of life and how it comes and goes, and to me, having it set during Katrina just seemed like picking at a scab that hasn't healed.

But I do like what you said about the Lake Pontchartrain scenes. Those are much more powerful now.

I guess how I know that this is a great movie is that I'm still thinking about it days later. I think this will stick with me for a long long time.

Did anyone else start to think about Forrest Gump while watching this movie? I loved forrest gump and when i saw button in the theatre I found it hard not to notice some of the similarities. I found out later that thescreenwriter for gump was the same one for button which may or may not have been one of the reasons for the similarity.

I'm not very interested in this movie, even after seeing the trailers, I could tell it was going to be a good film, just not one I was concered about watching. After your reviews though I actually want to see it.

Awesome! Your reviews have made me want to see a movie, like no other review has! 8)

Oh my, that's a lot of pressure Bliss!! I hope you like it. :)

Yeah, the movie has a lot of similarities to Forrest Gump (southern, love story that spans a lifetime, war and odd life experience). I don't mean to be blasphemous, but I might like this movie more. I at least like them equally. I still love Forrest Gump, a lot actually, but there was something about Button that really touched me. And I really liked that it wasn't overly sentimental or sappy...there was such a "realness" to it and kind of a harshness as well. I credit a lot of that "feel" to the director, David Fincher, just based on his other work (Fight Club, Seven, Zodiac, The Game). Anyway, while I adore Forrest Gump, I guess I found it less applicable to my own life...where as with Button I found it very self reflective.

Little Red Death wrote:

Oh my, that's a lot of pressure Bliss!!

I would hope not, but I consider us all friends, so I know you know what a good movie is, You're makeing better movie endings!

It reminded me a ton of Big Fish...also another favorite!

In a nutshell... it's a little bit of Big Fish... meets Forest Gump... with plenty of it's own merit intact by the end... it was a great film... 4.5/5

Spoiler******
Did anyone else laugh histerically at the oldman talking about how he got struck by lightening seven times... that was HILARIOUS! I only counted six recountings though... including the end... idk... I must've miscount...

Yeah, that cracked us up! It was definitely a much needed bit of comic relief. :)

sigh, I think I am the only person who didn't love it. Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate it but I don't think I can sit through it again for awhile. It felt very similar with Forest Gump, with the old lady telling a story from Titanic aspect. Felt like it borrowed too much from other movies. I personally really enjoyed the first like 40 something years of Benjamins life of the movie, but when the 2 actually got together, I felt it started to drag. The movie tried to put a lot of symbols, a little too many; hurricane, clock, humming bird, ect.
I think I went into this movie expecting too much, as least it wasn't as dissapointing as The Spirit.

i'm not sure what show this is from but it shows the Foreest Gumb/Button similarities. Kind of funny.

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/1d76506803/the-curious-case-of-forrest-...