Review of Big Eyes (2014) by Patrick L — 19 Aug 2015

"It may not be a great piece of art but "Big Eyes" is a delightful romp from Tim Burton".

DVD Movie Review: Big Eyes.

Date Viewed: April 14 2015.

Directed By Tim Burton (Beetlejuice, Batman,.

Ed Wood, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,.

Alice in Wonderland and Dark Shadows).

Written By Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski.

Starring: Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz, Krysten Ritter, Danny Huston, Jon Polito, Jason Schwartzman and Terence Stamp.

"Big Eyes" is a refreshing change for director Tim Burton. After making big budget fantasies like "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", "Big Fish", "Dark Shadows" and "Alice in Wonderland", Burton has returned to low-budget filmmaking with "Big Eyes". It is based on the unbelievable true story of painter Margaret Keane and her husband Walter. They were responsible for one of the biggest art frauds in history. It may not be a great piece of art but it is a delightful romp by Burton and it has another terrific performance from Amy Adams who won a Golden Globe for her role as Margaret Keane, the real artist of this story.

Set in the late 50's and early 60's, "Big Eyes" is about a successful painter Walter Keane (Christoph Waltz) and his ultimate scheme to take credit for painting lavish portraits of Big Eyes. Actually, his wife, Margaret (Adams) is the real artist of this movie, she painted those amazing Big Eyes paintings. Every one of her paintings has big eyes, they are so big, even an art gallery owner played by Jason Schwartzman says, "Oh God, it's a movement!". When everybody learns that Walter Keane is a fraud, Margaret wants a divorce and they settle their case in a Hawaii courtroom. It turns out that Walter never painted anything in his life, he was only a realtor. He schemed his wife's paintings for big money and he is nothing more than a lying scumbag.

Adams and Waltz are funny and charismatic in this unbelievable tale about art, fraud and big eyes. Sure, it is not one of Tim Burton's best and it does have a ludicrous courtroom scene at the end but "Big Eyes" is a fascinating tale that needed to be told.