Benjamin Button POV

[Stunted]

Hi. There's been a lot of talk about POV, and I found a sort of interesting example of it that I think a lot of people have come across.

Has anyone seen Benjamin Button? For those who haven't, the premise is that a woman is reading Brad Pitt's diary to her dying mother. So most of it is narrated by Brad Pitt talking about his wife or whatever. But in the middle, there's a part where Brad Pitt talks about all of the little incidental things, like someone being late for work or forgetting to wrap a package, lead to this woman getting hit by a car.

Now, there is NO reason for Brad Pitt's character to know any of this. Essentially, the movie is switching into omniscient without warning or logic. Now, even thought in my head, I was like, "WTF?", I still cried buckets.

So...yeah. What are people's opinion on this?

[maestrowork]

(SPOILERS ALERT)


The entire film, except the frames and the ending that are from Daisy's POV, is Benjamin's story.

There are a few places where it seems like the POV is violated: about Benjamin's father and mother, for example. Until we realize he later met and knew a lot about his father.

As for the "incident" you mention, my take is that it was all Benjamin's speculations. He wasn't even there. I think he was musing about the intricate details of the cosmos, and how fate and destiny play their sometimes-cruel hands.

It's not omniscient. Benjamin didn't know what really happened except for the outcome. He was speculating and he made up a story behind the whole incident. It's still in first person, but one of speculations. It's still narrated by Benjamin, so there's no "omniscient narrator," so to speak.

It also ties back to the "clock" motif, which is very strong throughout the entire film. Not only about time and mortality, but also about the intricate inner working and how one piece fits with another, etc. etc. That motif continues to resonate up until the end.

[IceCreamEmpress]

Has anyone seen Benjamin Button? For those who haven't, the premise is that a woman is reading Brad Pitt's diary to her dying mother. So most of it is narrated by Brad Pitt talking about his wife or whatever. But in the middle, there's a part where Brad Pitt talks about all of the little incidental things, like someone being late for work or forgetting to wrap a package, lead to this woman getting hit by a car.

Now, there is NO reason for Brad Pitt's character to know any of this.

Presumably, that's the account that's written in the diary, assembled by Button from his conversations with others and his imagination. People often write narratives in their diaries that are based on their research as well as their experiences.