The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

• bad timing
• premise
• toy with
• get (someone)

• love interest
• midlife
• rave reviews
• parallel

• visually stunning

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

If you think about it, being really old is pretty similar to being really young…but it’s not as cute. You need the most help taking care of yourself, you have the hardest time moving, and your mind is weakest when you are a baby and when you are very elderly. In many ways, we leave this world in the same state in which we enter it.

Brad Pitt’s latest movie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, is about a character who is born an old man and ages in reverse. He gets younger and younger, until he becomes a newborn baby, and then he dies. Cate Blanchett plays his love interest, a woman who ages the normal way. Even though they love each other and are meant to be, they can only be together for a short time, when they both reach midlife and their ages finally match up.

Benjamin Button was nominated for many awards. Marni loved it, but Mason isn’t sure he agrees with all the rave reviews . Listen to them talk about it.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Marni

Mason

Marni:  I just recently saw Benjamin Button. The curious case of.

Mason:  The curious case. You know, what I find to be a curious case is the many parallels between that and Forrest Gump.

Marni:  Well, written by the same writer.

Mason:  Oh. Well that would explain it.

Marni:  There you go. It had a very Forrest Gump meets Big Fish feel.

Mason:  Forrest Fish. Big Gump.

Marni:  Well, a beautiful film. I mean, visually stunning. And, just, a very sweet portrayal of this man, and his life. And the whole concept of aging in reverse…I find it very fascinating.

Mason:  Right. I kinda liked what they were able to do with the relationship between he and Cate Blanchett. And it’s like, you hear so many times in relationships that it’s bad timing and stuff like that. It was a really interesting way to kinda carry out that sorta thing.

Marni:  Yeah, absolutely. Well, the writer based it on the premise of that saying that “youth is wasted on the young.” So, he just toyed with that idea and wrote this script.

Mason:  So all of that said, I mean, I really enjoyed the film, but it didn’t really get me that much. I mean, I don’t really think it’s worth all the praise.

Marni:  Really? Thirteen Oscar nominations?

Mason:  No, I think that’s kinda ridiculous, I mean, I don’t know. What, did it do something to you?

Marni:  I cried. A lot.

Mason:  A lot? Like just, not just at the end?

Marni:  A lot.

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