飓风正在侵袭美国新奥尔良，一位病危的老妇睁开了她的睡眼。老妇名叫戴茜（凯特·布兰切特饰），她叫女儿凯若琳（朱莉娅•奥蒙德饰）为她阅读一本日记。这本日记的作者叫本杰明•巴顿（布拉德•皮特饰）。本杰明出生在第一次世界大战停战之时，但生来便像个老人的他被父亲当作怪物，被遗弃在了养老院。本杰明在养老院与老人们一起生活。但谁都没有想到，本杰明逆向发育——越活越年轻！也许“越活越年轻”是某些人的梦想，但真正这样成长的本杰明却有了别人无法理解的烦恼与快乐。穿越半世纪的世界变革，本杰明身处其中，感受别人感受不到的感受。 
　　为何母亲会让自己念这本日记？本杰明•巴顿此人与母亲有什么关系？凯若琳陷入了深深的疑惑与好奇之中。

1，You never know what's coming for you. 

你永远都猜不到，以后的生活是什么样子。 

2，——What if I told you that I wasn't getting older,but I was getting younger than everybody else? 

——要是我告诉你我没有变老，而是变得更年轻了呢？ 

——Well,I'd feel sorry for you,to have to see everybody you love die before you do.It's an awful responsibility. 

——那真不幸。你必须看着你爱的人先你而去，真是可怕的责任。 

(OS：I'd never thought about life or death that way before. 

我以前从没想过生死。) 

——Benjamin，we're meant to lose the people we love.How else would we know how important they are to us? 

——本杰明，我们命中注定要失去所爱之人，不然我们怎么知道，他们在我们的生命中有多重要？ 

3，It's a funny thing about coming home. Looks the same, smells the same, feels the same. You'll realize what's changed is you. 

回家是一件令我感到新奇的事情，周遭一切看起来依旧，闻起来依旧，感觉起来也依旧。你才意识到，其实真正发生改变的，是你自己。 

4，Our lives are defined by opportunities.Even the ones we miss. 

我们的生命，因为各种各样的机遇而变得有意义,甚至那些我们错过的。 

5，You can be mad as a mad dog at the way things went.You can swear and curse the Fates.But when it comes to the end,you have to let go. 

不顺心的时候，你可以像疯狗那样发狂，你可以破口大骂，诅咒命运；但到头来，还是得放手。 

6，Life wasn't all that complicated.If you want, you might say I was looking for something.

生活并没有那么复杂，要是你喜欢，大可以说我是在探索生命。 

7，Sometimes we're on a collision course and we just don't know it.Whether it's by accident or by design,there's not a thing we can do about it. 

有时候，我们的人生轨道，会与别人的交错，只是不自知罢了。无论是意外，还是天意，我们都无力改变。 

8，And if only one thing had happened differently, 

if that shoelace hadn't broken, 

or that delivery truck had moved moments earlier, 

or that package had been wrapped and ready , because the girl hadn't broken up with her boyfriend, 

or that man had set his alarm and got up five minutes earlier, 

or that taxi driver hadn't stopped for a cup of coffee, 

or that woman had remembered her coat and had gotten into an earlier cab, 

Daisy and her friend would have crossed the street. 

And the taxi would have driven by. 

But life being what it is, 

a series of intersecting lives and incidents, 

out of anyone's control, 

that taxi did not go by, 

and that driver was momentarily distracted. 

And that taxi hit Daisy. 

But,life being what it is,a series of interesting lives and incidents,out of anyone's control. 

如果只有那么一件事情没有按原样发生的话 

如果那个朋友鞋带没有松 

如果那辆货车提前几分钟开走 

如果那个服务员没和她的男朋友分手，商品被提前包好 

如果那个男人的闹钟提前上了五分钟 

如果那个司机没有停下来去喝杯咖啡 

如果那个巴黎女人没有忘了拿大衣，而坐上早一班的出租车 

那么黛西和她的朋友穿过马路时，出租车也只会和他们擦肩而过…… 

但是，生活没有如果，只有一连串互相交错的意外,无人能够控制。 

9，For what it's worth,it's never to late,or in my case,too early,to be whoever you want to be. 

There is no time limit,start whenever you want. 

You can change or stay the same. 

There are no rules to this thing. 

We can make the best or the worst of it. 

I hope you make the best of it. 

And I hope you see things that startle you. 

I hope you feel things you never felt before. 

I hope you meet people with a different point of view. 

I hope you live a life you're proud of. 

If you find that you're not, 

I hope you have the strenght to start all over again. 

一件事无论太晚，或者对于我来说太早，都不会阻拦你成为你想成为的那个人，这个过程没有时间的期限，只要你想，随时都可以开始，要改变或者保留原状都无所谓，做事本不应有所束缚，我们可以办好这件事，却也可以把它搞砸，但我希望，最终你能成为你想成为的人，我希望你有时能驻足于这个令你感到惊叹的世界，体会你从未有过的感觉，我希望你能见到其他与你观点不同的人们，我希望你能有一个值得自豪的一生，如果和你想象的生活不一样，我希望你能有勇气，重新启程。 

10， 

—— Momma? Momma? Some days, I feel different than the day before. 

——妈妈，有时候，我感觉一切和前一天不大一样。 　 

—— Everyone feels different about themselves one way or another, but we all goin' the same way. 

——每个人在某种程度上都对自己有不同的认识，但是我们最后都会往同一个地方，只是走的路不同罢了。你也有属于你的路，Benjamin。 

11，Some people are born to sit by a river. 

　　Some get struck by lightning. 

　　Some have an ear for music. 

　　Some are artists. 

　　Some swim. 

　　Some know buttons. 

　　Some know Shakespeare. 

　　Some are mothers. 

　　And some people... dance. 

有些人 就在河边出生； 

　　有些人 被闪电击中过； 

　　有些人 对音乐有着非凡的天赋； 

　　有些人 是艺术家； 

　　有些人 游泳； 

　　有些人 懂得纽扣； 

　　有些人 知道莎士比亚 而有些人 是母亲； 

　　也有些人 能够跳舞 

12， 

——What are you thinking? 

——你在想什么？ 

——Well,I was thinking how nothing lasts. And what a shame that is. 

——我在想，为什么世上没有永恒呢？多可惜。 

——Somethings last. 

——有些事情，是永恒的。 

——Good night,Daisy. 

——晚安，黛西。 

——Good night,Benjamin. 

——晚安，本杰明。