Benjamin Button & NOLA

I'm not a big fan of long sweeping emotional dramatic movies.  The main reason I'm not a big fan is because I put myself into the shoes of the characters involved and end up getting very affected by the film as a direct result.  For this reason I was reluctant to see the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button starring Brad Pitt, because I knew that it was going to be difficult for me emotionally while trying to watch it.

Brigitte loves to watch these sort of films, even though she also gets very emotional during and after them.  For those of you unfamiliar with the plot line, the story centers on Benjamin Button, played by Brad Pitt, who unlike most people is born with a body that appears to be in his 80s, and as he grows older, his body grows younger and younger.  The story is very tragic, especially when he finally gets to be with the woman he loves, and I don't want to give away too much more of the story for those of you who intend to see it.

However, I do feel it is important to point out that a large portion of the story centers in New Orleans following World War I, which oddly does not appear very different from the New Orleans I grew to love as I lived there up until Hurricane Katrina.  The story is retold by a mother to her daughter on her deathbed in a hospital as Hurricane Katrina is approaching, which in this case made the movie extra traumatic for both of us.  I assume that Brad Pitt had a lot to do with the settings of this story since he also lives in New Orleans and has been actively helping to rebuild homes in the Lower 9th Ward, which was the worst affected region of New Orleans after Katrina struck land.

This was an excellent movie.  I can say with certainty that I would like to own a copy of this film, even though it is probably not a film that I would watch regularly.   I recommend it to anyone, but felt it was necessary to post this because those of us with lingering trauma from the storm will probably be more affected than most who watch this film.