Review of Big Eyes (2014) by Marina A — 09 Jan 2015

In 1958, Margaret(Amy Adams) takes her daughter and leaves her husband and the sterile suburbs far behind. That is in exchange for the bohemian North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco where she hangs out with her friend DeeAnn(Krysten Ritter) and paints portraits. While trying to earn a little extra money from her art, Margaret meets Walter Keane(Christoph Waltz), a fellow artist.

There is a good deal of support for "Ed Wood" being Tim Burton's best movie to date. But that comes with a caveat as some of those same viewers cannot decide whether Burton is celebrating or castigating Wood.

With "Big Eyes," Burton leaves little doubt as to how he feels about Margaret Keane's art, while pretty much taking critics everywhere to task when it it is not relevant when watching this film what one's opinion of Margaret's art is. In fact, Burton goes so far, that the movie becomes less about Margaret than about Burton himself. That's not to mention a courtroom scene which while potentially accurate is simply too silly to work properly as the climax. In the process, the movie almost wastes valuable insights into marketing, some excellent period details and a superb performance from Amy Adams.