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News
and articles about the film
Studio:
Columbia Pictures
Director: Tim Burton
Screenwriter: John August
(based on the novel ’ Big Fish: A
Novel of Mythic Proportions’ by Daniel
Wallace)
Starring: Ewan McGregor,
Albert Finney, Jessica Lange, Danny DeVito,
Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Buscemi, Billy
Crudup, Alison Lohman, Hailey Anne Nelson,
Robert Guillaume, Marion Cotillard.
Big Fish is arguably Tim Burton’s
best film in almost a decade. It combines
the freewheeling fun of Pee-Wee’s
Big Adventure with the emotional resonance
of Edward Scissorhands. In fact Edward’s
Big Adventure wouldn’t be a bad alternate
title. If you haven’t seen it yet
then I suggest you stop reading now before
I go into spoiler territory, since a major
part of the film’s appeal is the element
of surprise.
Although some reviewers have claimed this
film is a departure for Burton, it still
has all his trademark touches. As always
with his films, it drew me in right from
the magical opening credits. Since this
is a film about tall tales, the structure
is quite different from Burton’s other
work. You never know when or where the story
is going to go next, which is part of the
film’s charm.
We first meet the main character, Edward
Bloom (Albert Finney), as an old man enchanting
everyone except his son, Will (Billy Crudup),
with his outlandish stories. Then we go
back in time and see Ed as a young man (Ewan
McGregor) catching the uncatchable fish
of the title. Then, as the storytelling
begins in earnest, we see his memorable
birth (literally popping out of his mother’s
womb) and childhood. An early encounter
with an old witch (Helena Bonham Carter)
who can show people how they die in her
glass eye is classic Burton – creepy
and fun. The film cuts back and forth between
Ed’s fanciful exaggerations and the
naturalistic, real world scenes featuring
the older, dying Bloom and his estranged
son, but the contrast is never jarring.
It takes a little while for the movie to
build up steam, but once the tall tales
focus on Ed as a young man setting out to
make a name for himself in the world, it
becomes more and more entertaining. This
is definitely Burton’s funniest film
in a while – I had an almost constant
smile on my face from the wit and visual
invention of the tales. The segment where
Ed becomes a small town hero is an amusing
montage and features a suburban scene with
lawnmowers all moving simultaneously that
is highly reminiscent of Edward Scissorhands.
The characters the young Ed meets, from
giants to bank robbing poets to circus folk
to werewolves, are all fascinating creations.
After a trip through a dark forest Ed finds
himself in the town of Spectre. It seems
almost like Eden – a place where everyone
smiles and no one wears shoes. This segment
is rich in symbolism, and introduces the
amusing recurring character of Norther Winslow
(Steve Buscemi). Ed’s stay in paradise
ends with a hilarious scene where he is
caught up in a town dance and finds himself
twirled around by the insanely smiling mayor
(played by musician Loudon Wainwright III).
Ed leaves, but promises a young girl named
Jenny he will return one day.
The most charming part of the film comes
after Ed and his towering companion Karl
(played sympathetically by real life giant
Matthew McGrory) turn up at a circus run
by Amos (Danny DeVito), whose acts include
a high wire diving cat. It’s there
that Ed first meets Sandra (Alison Lohman),
the girl destined to become the love of
his life, and time literally stops. Ed spends
years working for Amos in order to find
her again, and then performs a dazzling
series of romantic gestures to win her love.
However, the Korean War soon separates the
happy couple. This leads to a laugh out
loud sequence where Ed parachutes into an
enemy camp and has to deal with kung fu
fighting soldiers before hatching an escape
plan with conjoined twin lounge singers
(Adai Tai and Arlene Tai).
After Ed arrives back home and makes his
fortune, the tall tales begin to thin out
as the film focuses more on the present
day relationship between father and son.
Will does some investigating and discovers
that the town of Spectre was real. It turns
out Ed returned there years after his first
visit to find it had fallen on hard times.
He used his money and contacts to help rebuild
the place, and met Jenny (Helena Bonham
Carter) again. This further blurs the line
between reality and fantasy, and begins
Will’s reconciliation with his father.
After the elder Bloom takes a turn for the
worst, Will visits him in hospital and finally
tells a tall tale of his own. In Ed’s
dying moments, his son reveals to him what
was shown in the witch’s eye –
Ed dies in the river surrounded by all the
people he met on his adventures. It’s
a poetically beautiful final tale, and I’m
not ashamed to admit I was in tears during
this and the following funeral. The fact
that I watched my own father almost die
in a hospital bed no doubt added to my emotional
state during these scenes. The real life
versions of the people from Ed’s stories
turn up to bid their final farewell, showing
that the legend was closer to reality than
the sceptical Will ever dreamed. At the
end, Edward Bloom becomes the big fish he
always wanted to be.
The actors are as perfectly cast as any
in Burton’s previous films. McGregor
is more charming than he’s ever been.
He manages to emulate Albert Finney at times,
while still making the character his own.
His bloody smile to Sandra after being beaten
up by her bullying fiancé, yet winning
her heart, is surprisingly sweet. Finney
is equally good as the older Bloom, full
of boisterousness and Southern charm. Crudup
has a difficult role as the son tired of
his father’s flights of fancy, but
he underplays it well. Jessica Lange is
somewhat underused as the older Sandra,
but still gives a touching performance,
especially in the scene where she and Ed
both lie in a bathtub fully clothed. Bonham
Carter follows up her emotive chimp turn
in Planet of the Apes with her impressive
dual role. DeVito is as flamboyantly entertaining
as in his other parts for Burton, though
you may see a little more of him than you
ever wished. Buscemi is great as always.
His character goes through more changes
than perhaps anyone else, from his funny
attempts at poetry, to a bumbling bank robbery
scene that reminded me of Mr. Pink from
Reservoir Dogs, to his final Wall Street
incarnation. All of the actors in the minor
roles turn in good performances as well.
The technical qualities are as amazing as
you’d expect from a Burton film. The
lush cinematography, dazzling production
design and colourful costumes all add to
the fairytale feel of the film. The visual
effects are used sparingly to compliment
the story. Danny Elfman’s score is
also subtly effective.
Big Fish is a truly magical film that has
all the best elements of Burton’s
classics, while also showcasing a new maturity
as a filmmaker. It’s not perfect,
and some people may lose patience with the
relaxed tone of the film, but if you go
with the flow it’s impossible not
to be both entertained and moved by it.
It may not surpass Burton’s other
two films about a character called Edward,
but it shows that Hollywood still hasn’t
stamped out his creativity.
Arran McDermott
2004
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