I’ll be honest, I’m not nearly as wide a reader as I used to be (blame games for that), and I didn’t look at the movie’s website beforehand, so I didn’t know that this was based on a 1921 short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. With that being said, it follows that I haven’t read the short story yet, meaning that the thoughts written here are based entirely on the movie. Please excuse me for being so pop and not having enough culture.

The film falls into the niche category of those semi-autobiographical, period piece movies which I tend to take a huge liking to. I don’t know what it is about them, but the sum of the titular character telling his or her story, the audience watching it unfold, and the interesting backdrop of a distinctly different (and more importantly, long past) millieu gets me everytime. Across the Universe wasn’t necessarily autobiographical, but I really enjoyed it nevertheless. Benjamin Button feels the same.

There were many themes touched on, like life’s ephemeral nature, the sureness of death, time, and a classic case of carpe diem, but the movie moves at a gentle pace, so I never felt like they were trying to stuff every bit of the two hours and forty-seven minutes with drama.

The stars of the film lived up to their names. Brad Pitt was great at playing every one of his character’s ages. Cate Blanchett shone too in her portrayal of Daisy. Their physical transformations were fantastic (nice one make-up artists). But again, it was the combination of that and their respective mannerisms, characteristics, and speech at each and every turn – that totality – which really made their performances stand out.

This is what the entire audience can see and experience for themselves, of course. What’s really endearing about the movie is that it prods you to think, reflect and decide. And that, that’s what’s personal, and it’s what you keep. From the questions that arise to the answers that come, all of it is entirely yours.