The Curious Case of Time
I came across this beautifully composed piece today that eloquently conveys the love of reading, the impossible challenges of crafting a movie out of a book, and the mind numbing theme that I’ve personally mused over for years — the concept of being born backwards. In “The Curious Case of the Better Adaptation,” Kerry Saretsky argues that “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” the film, is infinitely superior to F. Scott’s Fitzgerald’s book.
“Curiously, for a writer whose main preoccupation was stopping the clock, Fitzgerald failed to reach the poignancy in “Benjamin Button” that the film so gracefully captures, leaving us with the realization that aging backward strips us not only of love and comfort and company, but of experiences and achievements and respect. Perhaps youth is not, as Twain would say, “the best part of one’s life,” but is, instead, the part most encumbered by emptiness. The movie refutes Fitzgerald, establishing that there is something serene and beautiful about growing old, and something oddly melancholy about growing young.”
~ by eaesthete on 01/27/09.
Posted in Entertainment
Tags: Adaptation, FILM, fscottfitzgerald, novel, thecuriousecaseofbenjaminbutton
Thanks for the link… insightful write-up, and a great site!