Review of Big Eyes (2014) by Eyal D — 26 Dec 2014

BIG EYES has some fine, biting moments in the best Tim Burton way possible. A story of Margaret Keane, a painter whose husband, for a decade, took full credit for her work while making a sizable profit, seems perfectly fitting for Burton's bizarre vision.

Amy Adams, as always, is a very likeable actress and this is an impressive, well deserved role, perfectly suited for her persona. The premise - based on facts - is one strikingly rich in Burtonism (not necessarily a word but there are those who'll get me).

And this is where Christoph Waltz comes in. His Walter Keane is way over-the-top, He plays him as an overbearing narcissistic, manipulative, scheming cad of a husband but who's to say he wasn't exactly that way.

I guess what the film lacks is consistency in being out there or being different. And that's mainly because Amy Adams' Margaret is the heart of BIG EYES and comes across as the normal centre at the core of this most unusual story which kind of makes her dullish compared to everything and everyone around her, especially Waltz's Keane.

It is ironic that Margaret created these strange acrylics of children with rather BIG EYES. You'd almost expect her to be as creepy but instead it's most everyone around that is.