Loss
The film begins with the sad story of a clockmaker creating a clock which runs backwards through time in hopes that the young men, including his son, could somehow return from the War which claimed their lives. We all wish that we could turn back time and get another moment with our loved one(s), but Benjamin must live his life in reverse; being treated as elderly in his youth and as a youth when he is elderly. Many times what he wish for, though it may ease our heart's pain, many times is far more difficult to bear in actuality. The film, based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story, creates a life based on this notion of time being able to run back, and we see that there is love and joy, but also still loss, still pain.
Time
Time: the one commodity that is the same to everyone each day. With time we are always moving forward, advancing. However, this film reveals to us what would happen if time ran in reverse while everything and everyone else is moving forward. There is a "sweet spot" that we see with Benjamin and Daisy, but Time has a different direction for each of them as they are moving away from one another, while ironically at the same time moving towards each other.
The Perspective and Value of Life
What one person sees or values may or may not be the same view or value for another, and depending on where, when and with whom we are engaged can, in many instances determine the path of our destiny. Benjamin's father gives up his son as he appears to be an abomination, but he is taken in by Queenie and her husband to be loved and always cared for when no one else would. We see love and experiences happen too early and too late for Benjamin as the world views him as much older than what he really is and eventually much younger than the reality. Benjamin's perspective on life is unlike many as he had the incredible of living life from a different point of view than others and it allows him to capture the essence of the them that Time is only what we believe about it. If we believe it's too late or too soon, either way we're right.
