The ‘Curious case of Benjamin Button’ is a 2008 fantasy film directed by David Fincher. With amazing direction, the movie also has the Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett’s advantage. Although the movie has been praised by critics and viewers over all these years, its attempt on magical realism stays underrated. Benjamin Button concerns a protagonist of the same name who ages backwards, having been born as an old man. This is one of the key characteristics of magical realism. Time is fluid and moves every way, just not linearly, For Benjamin, time is completely backwards, making him someone who breaks the stereotype that the grey hairs on your head are an evidence of how seasoned you are. This brings one to the basic definition of magical realism, posited by Archer David as ‘interject [ion of] beliefs that are not practical and observable into a universe influenced by science and pragmatism’. Plainly put, magical realism is when dream-like fantastic things are infused with reality, making them mundane and therefore everyday affairs. ‘Curious case of Benjamin button’ takes place in New Orleans. It is the South so also has certain values imbued into its system that must not be broken. This is the realist half of it. The magical half is Benjamin’s birth, born a fully grown, wiser old man with a croaky voice, who demands an immediate change of clothes and bedding after his birth, much to his father’s dismay.
Fantastic things are being talked about and yet there are no exclamations, grandiose depiction of scenes or overt mentions of magic and mystery
Benjamin’s world is quite extraordinary. Apart from his reverse aging, he also has the mindset of an old man. He is also abandoned by his own parents. It makes one question parental, supposedly unconditional, love which is absent in this case.
When he falls in love with ‘beautiful as sin’ Daisy, his life is perfect. His relationship is stable; Daisy is lovely and he is in the prime of his life, growing younger every day. This does not last long however, because as he grows young, and Daisy ages, the relationship is a mess.
The overall tone and atmosphere of the movie is understated. The movie has been praised umpteen times for the acting and direction skill but not enough for the subtlety with which extraordinary things takes place. Fantastic things are being talked about and yet there are no exclamations, no grandiose depiction of scenes and no overt mentions of magic and mystery. The whole thing is deceptively mundane and contributes to the beauty of the entire piece. Any magical realist story has to be convincing enough in order for the audience to indulge in it and suspend his or her disbelief throughout the duration of the story. In addition to this, there is no such thing as coincidence in this kind of work. That is perhaps the major distinction between fairy tales and magical realist fiction; the air of magic hangs too thick in fairy tales whereas in magical realist movies, there is a very subtle undertone, an extreme understatement that enhances the themes without overdoing it.
There is also the use of myth-making to generate a subtle ambiance of magic, mystery and anticipation. This genre is often confused with many other similar ones including science fiction, fantasy and surrealism.
Benjamin’s story is beautifully remarkable in its simplicity and the life in New Orleans goes on as if Benjamin never happened.
The writer is a staff member
Published in Daily Times, April 3rd 2018.