Review of Big Fish (2003) by Bob S — 29 May 2012

This is a lovely film with an excellent story. I'd classify Tim Burton's work into two periods. There's the period from Beetlejuice to Corpse Bride and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory onward, even though Corpse Bride and Charley were released in the same year. Personally I'm a bigger fan of his earlier movie than his stuff recently, with the exception of Sweeney Todd, which is tremendous, mostly because it feels more mainstream than anything he's ever done. And while they still have his very distinctive gothic style, these movies lack a certain life about them that his earlier movies had. And not to say the movies haven't been good because they have, I've enjoyed Charlie and Alice in Wonderland (I have not seen Dark Shadows yet, though I don't expect to like it very much) I just don't think they match up to what he has done previously. Of course it would probably be unrealistic to expect it, but that's the way things are unfortunately.

I'd say this movie sort of falls in between that transition to his more mainstream work from his more creative and inventive period. It also ends up feeling like a far more personal movie for him than he typically does as he had a similar experience with his father (of course not relating to his father telling bullshit stories, but having trouble connecting with him before he died). I don't think any movie of his has had this much emotional depth to the characters and the story. And the story is definitely a very charming and lovely one about this man trying to get to know who his father really was and not the stories (or fabrications) he tried to sell his son as fact. Of course the interpretation being that Edward used this stories as a defense mechanism and to keep people away, in a sense. I don't think that the movie captures that feeling at all, whatsoever. It just comes across as Edward being this AWESOME man who tells these great stories to entertain people. I don't think it comes across as a man who's trying to keep people at bay or from truly knowing him. Perhaps the book captures this better, but the movie doesn't succeed very well at it. That's not to say the story still isn't great as how William finally lets that anger go just to give his father one last moment of happiness before he died. The end is definitely very touching and bittersweet because it's cool to see how all these people who knew Edward at some point in their life come together to share their memories of how he impacted or changed their lives. Of course, visually, the movie feels like a Tim Burton movie only far more livelier and colorful than he typically does. The performances are great, I've decided Ewan McGregor is a great, and underrated actor. This guy can pull off almost any role convincingly and I just don't see a lot of people giving him credit as an actor with an incredibly expressive face. Albert Finney is also tremendous. The entire cast is great really, full of great and likable characters. Of course the story really is kind of glorified vignettes with characters that Edward met in his travels, but they all end up coming together in a believable manner. And also the stories Edward tell are really great as well, as they are the heart of what the movie is about. So yea I really loved this movie, definitely excellent stuff, along with Ed Wood...this may be among Burton's most under-appreciated movies. Worth seeking out.