Review of Big Eyes (2014) by Brett B — 25 May 2015

Easily Tim Burton's most conventional (in outward appearance) film in some time, BIG EYES still displays the director's trademark interest in offbeat figures, and it is a rather charming piece of work.

It's a fairly lightweight story in its tone, but that is not to say it is without things on its mind; the power dynamics of the central relationship are fascinating in the way they reflect the gender attitudes of the era, as well as larger attitudes about art-as-commerce and art for its own sake.

Indeed, one of the most interesting things about the film is that it does not accept at face value the merits of Margaret Keane's work, and the question of whether her art amounts to anything more substantial than populist kitsch is debated; this - perhaps paradoxically - makes her eventual fight for legitimacy all the more satisfying and earned.

Amy Adams, unsurprisingly, is wonderful, conveying equally the character's yearning, fragility, and (eventually) strength; she's aided by a screenplay which doesn't take the easy way out and shows her as initially being complicit (albeit reluctantly) in the fraud her husband perpetrated, which adds depth and shading to the part.

As the husband, Christoph Waltz is a riot. Taken in comparison to Adams, it's a bigger, more theatrical performance, but he's hugely entertaining (and not entirely one-note, either; he, too, brings some depth in moments illustrating the quiet frustration one feels when people prefer someone else's work to one's own).

In the final analysis, this is easily Tim Burton's most warm and humane film in years (probably since his other BIG film, BIG FISH), and it should be a welcome change of pace for those who might have grown a bit tired of his aesthetic schtick in recent years; I'm not really one of those people (I've always liked Burton's "look"), but I definitely think BIG EYES is a fresh-feeling offering from him, and completely enjoyable on its own terms.