The Curious Case of Plagiarism
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by David Fincher is an interesting loosely based on the novel of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The book follows the life of a boy from birth to death in a very Forrest Gump style of story telling, the difference is that this follows a boy who ages backwards. The story starts with an abandoned child being adopted by a family. The story follows the child who has the appearance of an elderly man. The story follows the man as he gets older despite his appearance and physical condition becoming younger. Throughout the entire story there is a love interest, ironically named Daisy(Same as Great Gatsby). The story discusses the important of time and its relation to our life and shows life in a cyclic motion as opposed to a linear one.
One of the films I found this movie very similar to was Forrest Gump. After I watched the movie I found out that Eric Roth was the screenwriter in both of these movies. One similarity I found was the idea of a story that was intertwined with historical events. For example Forrest is seen at present at the Watergate hotel during that scandal as well as part of the Vietnam War. In The Curious Case of Benjamin Button he is born on the day the Treaty of Versailles was signed, there is a scene where we we see the beatles performing at Shea Stadium, and at the end we witness hurricane Katrina.
Another similarity comes from setting and plot. Both movies start in a multi-family household in the deep south, Alabama and Louisiana. Both movies have a section of where they became the captain of a boat coincidentally both based in New Orleans. Both movies have a scene where the main character enlists in the military. Both movies have a love interest who become close to the protagonist as children but when they grow up move on and when they protagonist tries to reconnect is pushed away by the main love interest. Later in the movie, the love interest realizes their mistake and reconnects with the protagonist and have one child. The two movies use a framing narrative structure. Both protagonists also need to use crutches as a child but eventually outgrow them.
More similarities come in the form of themes. In Forrest Gump a major thematic area is about the unexpected twists and turns in life that cannot be planned for. This is exemplified by Forrest Gump’s famous “Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.” This shows the attitude towards the unpredictability of life. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button makes a similar assertion about the nature of life when he says “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.” This assertion is exemplified in this scene https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxhL-mDbQGM. These two assertions about the unpredictability of life are main components in both films and amplify the already apparent similarities.
Ultimately, I enjoyed the movie and I would recommend to anybody who wants to watch a long lifelong story that makes you think about life long after the movie is over.
Based on your interest:
Forrest Gump
The Great Gatsby
The Time Traveler’s Wife
Back to the Future III
Top 5 New Movies Ryan has seen in March/April
- Castaway
- Tropic Thunder
- Saving Private Ryan
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- Overboard
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