"You never know what's coming for you."

Rating: 8/10 (20 February 2018)

I think this film works as an example of how ordinary human beings can do extraordinary things when they have a desire to overcome their limitations and seek out a greater world outside themselves. The story is a uniquely creative and original one, told from the perspective of one principal character aging normally, and the other regressing after having been born 'an old man'. Their lives 'intersect' at the age of forty three, at which point Benjamin (Brad Pitt) begins coming to grips with the idea that he and Daisy (Cate Blanchett) are ultimately destined to live out their lives in separate ways. I do have a problem though with the timing of Benjamin's departure. The movie did a terrific job of restoring him back to a youthful looking young man over time, and it seemed to me that he could have enjoyed at least a decade with his daughter before heading off to parts unknown. His admonition that he didn't want to be her 'playmate' seemed hollow when Caroline was just a small child and he was still in his thirties. So that part of the story I think could have been handled a bit better. But otherwise, I thought this was a cleverly written story that also managed to reflect warmly on the racial component of having Benjamin raised by a black woman (Taraji P. Henson) who he considered his Mama. Interjecting the story with those humorous moments of the seven times lightning man was also quite brilliant, lending some welcome comic relief moments to a story that tended to get somber at times.