Big Fish [DVD]

most enjoyable

Took me about 15 minutes to really get into it, then I couldn't stop watching. The acting was brilliant, the story line a bit quirky until you finally understand it, altogether a great watch.

Many critics would have you believe that Big Fish marks a huge departure for director Tim Burton. But while visually this may be true, in essence this heartwarmingly surreal tale of loneliness, inability to fit in, and struggling with being misunderstood by the world make this perfect Burton material. And recovering from his shaky Planet of the Apes remake, he delivers his most mature work so far.Edward Bloom [Albert Finney] has always told tall tales about his oversized life as a young man [Ewan McGregor]. His fabulous exploits take him from small-town Alabama around the world meeting giants, witches, and a pair of conjoined lounge singers, until he finally meets and woos his true love, Sandra [Jessica Lange]. While his tales capture and charm almost everyone, his frustrated son Will [Billy Crudup] is struggling to learn the truth of his dying father's life before it is too late. Unable to change his Edward, Will must learn to separate the fact from the fiction as father and son are reunited.The driving force of Big Fish is its characters and the casting is simply superb. Finney's scenes were apparently filmed first, allowing McGregor to watch and assimilate some of his mannerisms into his younger portrayal. Crudup is able to amply portray the Will's frustration as he finds himself unable to connect with his father. And the resemblance between the wonderful Lange and Lohman as the younger and older versions of Edward's wife is uncanny. McGregor is particularly successful in walking the same fine line as the story itself, balancing between the real and unreal without ever seeming absurd or silly. Will's wife is an especially beautiful character, being both the perfect wife and a charming fresh audience for Edward's anecdotal stories, he brow knotting prettily in concern as he tells the delightfully twisted tale of the prophetic crow. The performances are all heartfelt, but Mcgregor manages to blend this with Burton's quirkiness perfectly.Burton's eye for such absurdity is brilliantly realised and the new bright palette is both striking and suitable for the usually darker-toned director. The dazzling special effects are used exactly as they should be, to enhance the story and complement the selection of vividly portrayed cameo characters, not to overshadow them as is so easy in this age of big-budget Hollywood extravagance. The cameos are indeed crucial to the pacing of the film. Every scene in which Danny DeVito or Steve Buscemi appear are filled with such vibrance that the audience are swept away with the tales just as Edward's own audiences are.Big Fish is ultimately a film of beautiful and breathtaking moments in the extraordinary tale of an ordinary man. One of the most moving is a simple sequence with scarce dialogue in which Lange slides into a bath with Finney, both fully clothed, and their love could not be better displayed. Our first glimpse of the siamese twin singers is simply stunning, and equally the other myriad of visually crafted images like the field of daffodils Edward uses to woo his wife in one of the sweetest, grandest cinematic romantic gestures. Equally, underplayed scenes such as the delicate hospital sequences at the end become all the more moving in juxtaposition, as they gain an added intensity. Burton freely admits he was influenced here by the recent death of his own father, although he adds that he was never particularly close to his parents.But Burton's true skill is in carefully drawing and manipulating the emotions of his audience. As Edward is beaten by his future wife's boyfriend, we first wince in pain, then laugh at McGregor's inane grin, and then are filled with real concern as he lies broken, all within a few seconds. We cannot help but be endeared to both father and son which makes us intrinsically a part of Will's discovery that sometimes fact and fiction are not so far apart, and sometimes they cannot be unravelled at all, in the "surprise ending" Edward always promised his death would be as he saw it in a witch's eye so many years before.While whimsical on the surface, Big Fish represents Burton's most mature and personal work to date. Perhaps it marks a new and more honest direction for the director, but it certainly ranks among his best with it's delicately balanced poignancy and humour.

One of Tim Burton's more overlooked films. Big Fish follows the incredible life of Edward Bloom (Ewan McGregor & Albert Finney), through a series of flashbacks that begin when his son Will (Billy Crudup) visits him for the last time. Edward is dying of cancer, and Will hasn't spoken to him for years because he believes him to be a liar that never really cared for his family. As Edward's story unfolds once again, Will tries to finally understand the truth about who his father really was.A much more bright, optimistic and lighthearted affair then many of Burton's other works, though still very much is his style and often quirky tone. Presenting a fantastical, optimistic and engaging tale of one man's life as he reaches its end, as well as delivering a grounded and raw relationship between a father and son. The visual style and variety of locations, characters (with brilliant performances) and situations keep the film consistently engaging despite a few pacing problems and a mostly repetitive structure.The film's structure is a very straightforward one. As Will and his wife talk to his father and when encountering various objects and mementos from his childhood within his mother and father's home, the film will flashback and present the context and details of the story, atmospherically and enthusiastically narrated by both the young and old Edward. These stories are ripe for Burton's style to add the more bizarre and otherworldly elements that add to what are very classically themed tales of adventure, romance and action. At times some of the sections do go on slightly too long, whilst not being as developed or intriguing as others. The present day situation between Will and Edward is excellently written and the conclusion of the film is one of the most emotionally satisfying and simultaneously wholesome and sad endings I have seen.The flashbacks sequences are vibrant, full of colour and life. Each location is distinct and very well detailed and described. From the typical Burton-esque Gothic style of the witches house, the perfectly neat and eerily happy and blinding optimism of the secret town of Spectre, to the bustling and chaotic travelling circus, the traditional to the very retro feeling romance of the Auburn University. This contrasts against the more grounded and bleaker present reality and the dusty forgotten mementos of Edward's past. The cinematography is great and the props, costumes and set designs are very well crafted.Ewan McGregor gives an enthusiastic and very likeable performance as the young Edward. Capturing his kindness, ambition and charm that makes him popular amongst those in his tales. Albert Finney does a perfect job as the older, weaker and more emotional counter-balance to his younger self, yet still keeping the sense of adventure and enthusiasm. Billy Crudup gives a solemn and at times bitter performance as Will, yet its obvious still how much he cares for his father. Marion Cotillard meanwhile revels in Will's father's stories and gives a kindhearted performance. Danny DeVito, Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Buscemi & Matthew McGrory all deliver in their supporting roles.Big Fish is a unique, charming, strange and engaging tale. The story feels like a true life's journey and the performances of the variety of characters are all strong and visually and stylistically the film nails it. Aside from a few pacing problems and some less interesting and focused plot moments, this is still well worth a watch.

What a great story about the art of story-telling. This is the first review i have ever written, which shows how highly i rate this film. I have watched it a number of times now... and each time it gives you something new and leaves you satisfied. There is so much to this film that its hard to know where to begin. Firstly, it is pretty obvious that this is a bit of a departure for Tim Burton, being that it is not as dark as most of his other films. However, his quirkiness and eye for detail remain (his best qualities as a film-maker in my opinion) and together with a story that is driven by the narrative (again-rare for Burton-esque films) and a cast on top-form (esp. Danny DeVito & Albert Finney) he has put together a great great film, that really does have everything. It has lots of hilarious moments, a few scary moments, romantic moments, and some very sad and emotional moments. It is a story rooted in reality with a dose of fantasy combined with a dash of Burton brilliance.... to make it truly magical.This film reminds you of the power of story-telling. It tells you that it is a gift to have an active imagination and to use it to inspire others.Its just a shame it wasn't a commercial success. On the other hand, it doesn't surprise me...for a film to be a commercial success nowadays it has to either be; epic in some way; full of CGI; filmed in New Zealand; starring Tom Cruise.So, buy this film and make it into a commercial grower!Oh....it has a really great song over the end credits aswell.