Jason watches The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

And it was good, but long. I was going to make this one of the 10 movies I'm requiring I don't review this year. But there is one point that seems out of place, so I want to blog about it. The story is set up with a framing device where Cate Blanchett's character is elderly and in the hospital. She has her daughter read to her from Benjamin Button's diary. This all takes place in her hospital room, in New Orleans, as hurricane Katrina is bearing down on the city (and she decides not to evacuate). Why put Katrina in the movie? Was this a cheap emotional punch? Or is it more vital to the theme of impermanence in the film? I suspect David Fincher believed it was the latter, but it comes off playing like the former. That is all.