Big Fish Review
by Bob Bloom (bobbloom AT iquest DOT net)February 19th, 2004
BIG FISH (2003) 3 1/2 stars out of 4. Starring Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter, Alison Lohman, Robert Guillaume, Marion Cotillard, Matthew McGrory, Ada Tai, Arlene Tai, Steve Buscemi and Danny DeVito. Music by Danny Elfman. Based on the novel by Daniel Wallace. Screenplay by John August. Directed by Tim Burton. Rated PG-13. Running time: Approx: 125 mins.
The myth and power of storytelling serves as the bait that hooks you in Tim Burton’s Big Fish.
All his life, Edward Bloom has been spinning fantastic yarns about his various adventures and encounters.
Now, as Edward nears the end of his days, his son, Will, wants to learn the truth. Will wants his father to confront his past and separate fact from fiction, to go on record and set the story straight.
But to Edward fact and fiction are one in the same, especially if it makes a good yarn.
If Big Fish were a CD, you could call it “Tim Burton’s Greatest Hits,” because of the various references, both overt and subliminal, that flows through the movie.
Echoes of Edward Scissorhands, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, Batman Returns and Sleepy Hollow, among others, splash around in Big Fish.
Structurally, the feature also puts you in mind of a bizarro Forrest Gump.
Whimsical would be an apt description for this gentle outing. The story is more fairy tale than nightmare.
Burton’s talent lies in making the extraordinary appear ordinary, and he utilizes this skill to the max.
A giant, a mermaid, a werewolf, conjoined twins, a glass-eyed witch and a menacing tree all are part of the tapestry, yet Burton’s casual, matter-of-fact approach helps build your acceptance of Edward’s experiences.
Journeys, real and allegorical, are the backbone of Big Fish. Young Edward leaves his small hometown of Ashton, Ala., because he feels constricted.
He’s confident that his ambition is too big and that he needs room to grow to fulfill his dreams.
Will, a journalist who deals in facts, has fled home to escape his father’s considerable shadow. He, too, must journey, but his is a more emotional odyssey as he returns to reconcile and reconnect with his ill father.
Some Burton fans may find this feature too sentimental, too mainstream for their tastes. Burton’s cinematic palette never has been so bright or colorful. Yet in a few sequences he does offer some dark visions to correspond with Edward’s tales.
As young Edward, Ewan McGregor exudes certainty, spunk and optimism. With a bounce to his step and a never-say-die attitude, he sets out to make a name for himself.
Albert Finney’s performance as the older, dying Edward is so wonderfully magical, made even moreso because he delivers most of his lines while prone in bed. Even motionless, Finney percolates charisma. He’s a lovable eccentric.
Jessica Lange is luminescent as Sandra, Edward’s steadfast and understanding wife, the love of his life. She tolerates her husband’s with warmth and bemusement, never contradicting nor scolding him.
Alison Lohman plays Sandra as a young woman and is a dead ringer for Lange. This talented actress is a beauty worthy of Edward’s many sacrifices to win her.
The under-appreciated Billy Crudup has the most difficult role, that of the skeptical Will. His character represents the doubters among us as he searches to uncover his father’s true past. During his emotional odyssey, Will learns that he and his father are more alike than he believed.
Big Fish is a three-ring circus of sometimes outlandish situations and characters, yet Burton makes it all seem so plausible, so middle class, that some part of you aches to accept.
And that is the magic of the storyteller.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, Ind. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or at [email protected]. Bloom's reviews also can be found at the Journal and Courier Web site: www.jconline.com
Other reviews by Bloom can be found at the Rottentomatoes Web site: www.rottentomatoes.com or at the Internet Movie Database Web site:
www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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