i do not understand the appeal of this film . it have no plot ( which be not necessarily a bad thing . another fincher or pitt collaboration from 1999 come to mind ) and the protagonist have no goal and and the film basically have no conflict . massive spoiler below . button be a freak . you would think his life would be a living hell full of torment and meaty conflict . but no . button life be wonderful . he rarely encounter hardship . he get abandon by his father and who show up later and give benjamin everything he own . he be take in by a loving woman who care for him every step of the way and keep him far from anyone who would consider him to be a freak . he live the good life grow up . or would it be down . he get a job hand to him while sit on a bench ( a job that he love so much that he would have do it for free and but he get pay . ) . he travel the world feel no ill effect and not be taunt or ridicule one single time for his disorder . most difficult situation he encounter be be leave without a life jacket when the tugboat encounter a german wwii sub and which the tugboat end up defeat with such ease and rapidity and benjamin doesn not even have time to do anything but crouch down for a minute and hide . the lack of a life jacket doesn not even come into play at all . a set up with no pay off . what be the point of that . the episodic nature of the story make it difficult to remember whether tilda swinton character show up before or after benjamin go to war and but it doesn not even matter . swinton have an affair with button and but swinton husband be a spy . oh shlt . nope . that be another set up without a pay off . more conflict avoid . it an affair without any repercussion . the close the film come to a plot be the love story between daisy and benjamin and which be also the close the film come to display any sort of real conflict . benjamin go to new york to surprise daisy only to find out she be with someone else . she reject him . benjamin go to paris . daisy reject him again . however and the rejection be only temporary and and daisy forgives him entirely . more conflict avoid . from there on and they live a wonderful life . there be even a montage show how wonderful their life together be . neither one have to deal with any sort of conflict for a while . they just have sex and fun all day long . they eventually end up have a child together and and benjamin decides to walk out on them to avoid the possibility of conflict arise from the fact that he will eventually grow young and daisy will have to care for both of them . so despite his radical disorder ( that nobody even really comment on and let alone ridicule him over ) and benjamin go through what some would consider a perfect life . he end up with everything he want and doesn not even have to work to get it . hell and i wish i be bear backwards so my life would be free and easy . how could a story with a concept so ripe with conflict completely avoid it .