a masterpiece of dialogue and editing from David Fincher

Known more famously for Se7en and Fight Club, David Fincher's The curious case of Benjamin Button is not only a compelling Movie but has one of the best sequences of word and picture that shows his real talent. The scene explains how Daisy (played by Kate Blanchett) is run over on the streets of Paris;

"A woman in Paris was on her way to go shopping... But she had forgotten her coat... and went back to get it... And when she had gotten her coat the phone had rung.. and so she had stopped to answer it... and talked for a couple of minutes... And while the woman was on the phone; Daisy was rehearsing for that evening's performance at the Paris Opera House...

And while she was rehearsing... the woman, off the phone now.. had gone outside.. to get a taxi.. Now a taxi driver.. had dropped off a fare earlier.. and had stopped to get a cup of coffee.. And all the while Daisy was rehearsing...

And the cab driver who had dropped off the earlier fare, and had stopped to get the cup of coffee.. had picked up the lady, who was going shopping... who had missed getting the earlier cab... The taxi had to stop for a man crossing the street who had left for work five minutes later than he normally did... because he forgot to set his alarm...

While the man, late for work, was crossing the street... making the cab wait.. Daisy finished rehearsing, was taking a shower... While Daisy was showering; the taxi was waiting outside a Boutique for the woman to pick up a package... which hadn't been wrapped yet because the girl who was supposed to wrap it... had broken up with her boyfriend the night before and forgot to...

When the package was done being wrapped.. The woman, who was back in the cab... the taxi was blocked by a delivery truck... All the while Daisy was getting dressed... The Delivery truck pulled off and the taxi was able to go... While Daisy, the first to be dressed, waited for one of her friends who had broken a shoelace... While the taxi stopped, waiting for a traffic light... Daisy and her friend came out of the theater...

And if only one thing had happened differently... if only the shoelace hadn't broken... Or the delivery truck had moved moments earlier.. Or the package had been wrapped and ready... because the girl hadn't broken up with her boyfriend... Or the man had set his alarm and got up five minutes earlier... Or the taxi driver hadn't stopped for a cup of coffee... Or the 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 them...

But life being what it is... a series of intersecting lives and incidents... Out of any one's control... the taxi did not go by... and the driver momentarily was distracted... And he didn't see Daisy crossing the street... and that taxi hit Daisy..."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTDs0lvFuMc
perfect.