The curious case of Benjamin Button

Like so many films today, the film begins with a story being told by somebody on their deathbed, further supporting the theory that as we approach our death the playback of our lives begins, giving us access to all kinds of distant memories.

Entropy, the thermodynamic arrow of time and a whole bunch of other stuff that I occasionally manage to get my head around, indicate that time could run backwards in a particular set of circumstances but it is highly improbably, more than highly in fact, hence "the curious case!"

The concept of time pertains to man and consciousness, we are bound by it and our lives make sense because of it. Flipping chronology of life on its head as we know it makes for an extremely moving film that tackles many issues of our lives including perceptions on age, love, rites of passage, friendship and general expectations.

Lightning is a major mention in this film as it is in Francis Ford Coppola's Youth without Youth. Probability and inevitability are usually explored through miracles within film and arguably this is no exception. In the Coen Brothers film "The Hudsucker Proxy" Tim Robbins' character falls to his death and is saved as time stands still for him when an angel stops the clock. This idea that we step out of time upon our death is one explained by Anthony Peake throughout his work, helpfully explained with his "Sky Diver falling out of time." In this film though, a clock is intentionally made to run backwards in order to bring back casualties from the war, it's one of several indications towards our generalisations and assumptions of time and the way we take its nature for granted.

The film is beautifully shot and although enjoying the luxury of a fairly long running time, still manages to capture an entire lifetime in just a few hours on screen.