The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (film)

2008 film by David Fincher

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a 2008 American fantasy romantic drama film about a man who ages in reverse.

Life isn't measured in minutes, but in moments.
Directed by David Fincher. Written by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord, loosely based on the 1922 short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Life can only be understood backward. It must be lived forward.  (taglines)

Benjamin Button

edit
  • My name is Benjamin Button, and I was born under unusual circumstances. While everyone else was aging, I was gettin' younger... all alone.
  • It's funny how sometimes the people we remember the least make the greatest impression on us
  • Along the way you bump into people who make a dent on your life.
  • It's a funny thing about comin' home. Looks the same, smells the same, feels the same. You'll realize what's changed is you.
  • Our lives are defined by opportunities, even the ones we miss.
  • Sometimes we're on a collision course, and we just don't know it. Whether it's by accident or by design, there's not a thing we can do about it.
  • If only one thing had happened differently: if that shoelace hadn't broken; or that delivery truck had moved moments earlier; or that package had been wrapped and ready, because the girl hadn't broken up with her boyfriend; or that man had set his alarm and got up five minutes earlier; or that taxi driver hadn't stopped for a cup of coffee; or that woman had remembered her coat, and got into an earlier cab, Daisy and her friend would've crossed the street, and the taxi would've driven by. But life being what it is — a series of intersecting lives and incidents, out of anyone's control — that taxi did not go by, and that driver was momentarily distracted, and that taxi hit Daisy, and her leg was crushed.
  • I think, right there and then, she realized none of us is perfect forever.
  • For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, start whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people who have a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of, and if you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.
    • Letter to his daughter
  • Some people were born to sit by a river. Some get struck by lightning. Some have an ear for music. Some are artists. Some swim. Some know buttons. Some know Shakespeare. Some are mothers. And some people — dance.
    • Last lines

Daisy

edit
  • I promise you, I'll never lose myself to self-pity again.
  • Everyone ends up in diapers at some point, sweetie.
  • 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.
  • I know the circumstances and I've accepted that. Loving you is worth all of it.

Queenie

edit
  • Poor child, he got the worst of it. Come out white.
  • You never know what's comin' for ya.
  • Everybody feels different about themselves, one way or another. But we’re all going the same way. Just taking different roads to get there, that’s all.”

Caroline

edit
  • I wish I'd known him.

Mr. Daws

edit
  • Did you know that I was struck by lightning seven times?
  • Did I ever tell you I was struck by lightning seven times? Once when I was in the field, just tending to my cows:
  • Did I ever tell you I been struck by lightning seven times? Once when I was just sittin' in my truck just minding my own business.
  • Did I ever tell you I been struck by lightning seven times? Once when I was repairing a leak on the roof.
    Once I was just crossing the road to get the mail.
    Once, I was walking my dog down the road.
  • Did i ever tell you i got struck by lightning seven times? once when i was just sitting on the toilet!
  • Blinded in one eye; can't hardly hear. I get twitches and shakes out of nowhere; always losing my line of thought. But you know what? God keeps reminding me I'm lucky to be alive.
  • Storm's comin'.

Others

edit
  • Benjamin, we're meant to lose the people we love. How else would we know how important they are to us?
    • Mrs. Maple
  • You can be as mad as a mad dog at the way things went. You could swear, curse the fates, but when it comes to the end, you have to let go.
    • Captain Mike
  • Life can only be understood backward. It must be lived forward.
    • Appeared in Trailer

Dialogue

edit
Caroline Button: Promise me he'll have a place.
Thomas Button: I... I promise.

Daisy: Are you sick?
Benjamin: They said I was gonna die soon, but... Maybe not.
Daisy: You're odd.

Benjamin: Momma? Momma? Some days, I feel different than the day before.
Queenie: Everyone feels different about themselves one way or another, but we all goin' the same way.

Daisy: Will you sleep with me?
Benjamin: Absolutely.

Daisy: We're almost the same age.
Benjamin: We finally caught up with each other.

Benjamin: I was thinking how nothing lasts, and what a shame that is.
Daisy: Some things last.

Daisy: What's it like growing younger?"
Benjamin: Can't really say, I'm always looking out of my own eyes.

Daisy: You're so young.
Benjamin: Only on the outside.

Taglines

edit
  • Life isn't measured in minutes, but in moments.
  • Life can only be understood backward. It must be lived forward.
  • Time is passing, even backwards.

Cast

edit
edit