Plot
The plot of the movie is very different from the short story because in the movie Benjamin does not even live at home with his parents. The movie has Benjamin's father drop him on the doorstep of an old nursing home. Benjamin, instead of growing up with his family and feeling so different from everyone else, he is taken in by the woman running the nursing home "Queenie". The plot is also different in the movie than in the short story because it has Benjamin leaving the nursing home when he is about eighteen to go and work on a boat. He travels with the captain of the boat to various places, and even is involved in the WWI, which is not in the short story. All of these elements go into how the story plays out in the end, which is also different. Benjamin meets his wife, also one of his childhood friends, when he is in the nursing home, her name is " Daisy". In the movie Benjmain dies in the arms of his wife when she is old, and in the story they don't mention much about his death.
Point of View
The movie's main point of view is from the main character Benjamin. Daisy, Benjamin's wife, is dying in the hospital, so her daughter reads what Benjamin wrote in a journal for Daisy. It goes throughout Benjamin's whole life and how he got to where he was. Caroline, Daisy's daughter, is reading to Daisy when she finds out that Benjamin is really her father. This point of view is different from the short story because in the short story, Benjamin is being observed rather than talking. Also, in the short story, one of the main differences in the point of view is from Benjamin's son.
Characterization
Benjamin mainly has the same characterization in the short story as in the movie. He grows up the same way, does most of the same things, and dies the same way. However, there are some changes in his character and other characters in the movie. One change is the fact that he has an affair with another woman. He is not married, but the woman that he is with is, to a spy. Another change is the change between Benjamin and his wife. In the short story Benjamin's character meets his wife when he goes to a party and dances with her. In the movie, Benjamin's future wife is his childhood friend that he has know almost his whole life.
Setting
The settings are very different from each other in many ways. One difference is that in the movie, it is set in New Orleans, in the short story, Baltimore. Another difference is the difference of where the main character lives all his life. In the movie, Benjamin lives in a nursing home because that is where he is left the day he is born when his father does not want him and his mother is dead. In the short story, Benjamin lives with his parents, his mother still alive after childbirth being the difference. In the movie, the setting changes more than in the short story because when Benjamin gets the job on the tugboat, he goes around the world to many different places and meets many new people.
Theme
The theme of the movie is close to the same as the short story. Benjamin always does what he thinks is important to himself. When Benjamin does not like something, or he gets tired of it, he makes that change happen. He is not afraid of change because in the movie he changes all the time and lives in many different places. One of the main theme's that stands out to me is the fact that Benjamin does not care what other people think. Many of us in this world today would not know what to do if they were put in a situation like this. We would think that it would be the worst thing that could happen to us, but Benjamin didn't make it seem that way. He went throughout his whole life overcoming obstacles and doing what was needed to make his life better for his family and for himself.
