Review of Big Eyes (2014) by Chris V — 08 Feb 2015

Walter Keane, charismatic husband of renowned painter Margaret Keane, steals credit for his wife's work.

Solid performances by Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams anchor Tim Burton's biopic. The last combination of Burton and Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, Ed Wood, could take advantage of Burton's magical realism comfort zone, but this one is pretty straight-laced, much to the film's benefit; too many Burton tricks would have made the film too cute for its own good. The story, however, isn't that strong. There are too few plot events in the second act that propel the action forward as we're waiting for Margaret Keane to force the film's inevitable conclusion. The climactic courtroom scene and "paint-off" are compelling enough, but it takes too long to get there.

Overall, Big Eyes is a good biopic, but it's not tight enough.