David Fincher's The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

Everyone makes choices in their lives, and most people experience noticeable changes in their personality as a result of their choices. However, the way one’s personality changes depends on the type of choices that person makes and the consequences of that choice. This idea is reflected in David Fincher’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, where Benjamin’s personality undergoes considerable changes because of the choices he makes, specifically regarding his emotional courage. The film follows the development of his emotional courage, from Queenie being an inspiration in being willing to take him in when no one else would, to having to make the pivotal decision of leaving Daisy and his daughter. By exploring his development, Fincher suggests

This gives him the opportunity to meet someone who will have a small, yet meaningful, impact on his life: Elizabeth, with whom he slowly develops an intimate relationship. Prior to meeting Elizabeth, Benjamin did not truly understand what it meant to be intimate, as all of his previous relationships had been merely sexual. His lack of emotional courage limited his ability to show intimacy. As he spends time with Elizabeth night after night, listening to her stories and engaging with her earnestly, he starts to understand that intimacy is not confined to just sexual intimacy. Fincher’s use of calm, soothing non-diegetic music during Benjamin and Elizabeth’s conversations and extreme close-up shots of details, such as when Benjamin comfortingly touches Elizabeth’s hand, work to emphasize that through his interactions with Elizabeth, he starts to realize that intimacy requires one to sincerely understand the other person’s feelings and emotions and genuinely care for the other person. Being his first opportunity at a truly intimate relationship, he is hesitant to embrace this idea at first, as established by the large distance between Benjamin and Elizabeth when they see each other for the first time in the middle of the night. However, as he spends more time with her, he slowly starts to develop the emotional courage needed to be intimate with another person, as seen by how

While this is a pivotal moment in his life, he makes his decision without much difficulty, as all of his previous experiences strengthen his emotional courage to prepare him for this moment. Fincher’s use of a low-angle shot of Benjamin before he leaves gives the sense that he is not worried or hesitant; he remains confident in the decision he made. That being said, making the decision to leave also helps to further develop his emotional courage by making him realize the importance of moving on and living life without regrets. While he does continue to worry for Daisy and his daughter after he leaves, he does not let that become a central part of his life. Instead, he accepts the fact that they had gone their separate ways and starts living life to the fullest, using his time to travel the world and to do as he please. Fincher makes use of hopeful non-diegetic music during Benjamin’s travels to reinforce how he does not dwell in memory of Daisy and Caroline, as he had made peace with his decision to leave them. It took a significant amount of emotional courage for Benjamin to admit that he would have been a burden on them had he stayed and for him to continue enjoying his life after leaving. Nonetheless, the emotional courage he gains from all his previous life experiences prepare him for those and all other situations he come to face in the