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 In a season where I have been disappointed by film after film, Big Fish was a refreshing experience. Tim Burton creates a magical story filled with the perfect elements of reality and imagination to explore ideas about family, life and most of all, love. The acting is perfect. Albert Finney is funny and charming and Jessica Lange is dynamic as his counterpart. Ewan McGregor is absolutely magnetic and loveable, and Billy Crudup shines; he knows exactly how to hold a glance or react to another character or even how to communicate in the most believable way. Even smaller parts are superb, including performances by Alison Lohman, Robert Guillame, Danny DeVito, Steve Buscemi, Helena Bonham Carter and many more. The story line is clever, and the switch between present time and "Ed" time keeps the audience entertained. There is just enough sweetness and laughter mixed in too, endearing the audience to the film and the stories unraveling on screen. It is easy to understand why the characters in the film, save for Will (Crudup), want to believe Ed's tales--and the viewer is pullling for Ed all the way. The only downfall was that it did not leave with an overwhelming sense of any one feeling. Burton would like the audience to interpret the story as one of the characters in the film would--to each her or his own--but this some how leaves the viewer missing a little something. Burton actually tells us in the story that a man will see things differently at different points in his life, and this may explain why the overall sentiment of the film was not as powerful for some as it could be for others. However, for such a remarkable life, Ed should be able to leave the viewer with an indelible impression, and this somehow falls a little short. A nice feature, one that many films as of late have gotten wrong, is that Burton knows how to frame his film and how to end it. The credits roll right when they should. This is a worthwhile film, a well-told tale that is delightful with excellent performances, and is undoubtedly a film that should be viewed over and over to catch all the special twists and meanings.
The title of the film actually functions on two symbolic levels simultaneously. On the one hand, it reflects the fictionalized nature of Bloom's life and the grandiose egotism of his character. On the other, Bloom is, himself, the "big fish" in a small pond, as he leaves his mark on the world around him. "Big Fish" is actually most effective in the scenes set in the present, as father and son come to terms with the quality that each dislikes most about the other. William feels deceived by a father who, despite the fact that he made himself appear to be a larger-than-life heroic figure, was actually just a mediocre, often-absent dad, too busy with his secret "fantasy" life to make time for his own lonely son (the story has strong echoes of "Death of a Salesman" in its underlying vision and theme). Bloom, in a similar way, finds his son lacking in the kind of large-scale imagination that Bloom feels makes life worth living. The film is considerably less successful in the "flashback" scenes tracing Bloom's life from his own birth to his son's early childhood. The scenes are all elaborately staged in the best Tim Burton manner - filled with hauntingly mythical settings, surrealistic events and doses of Magic Realism - but the filmmakers can't overcome the unfortunate fact that these sequences are essentially as uninteresting and irritating as real "fish stories" tend to be. Bloom's "adventures" come across as dime-novel vignettes, which is supposed to be the point, I guess, but it still means that we are squirming with impatience through large - indeed very large - stretches of the film. Every time we come back to the present - to real, flesh-and-blood human beings - our interest picks back up. That's why the film, in its latter stages, becomes such a moving and profound experience, as we finally get to see and know the real man who is Edward Bloom, wrinkles, warts and all. Burton has assembled a wonderful cast for the occasion. The marvelous Albert Finney plays the dying Bloom and invests the film with an emotional depth just by his mere presence in the role. Ewan MacGregor does a fine job as the young, idealistic Bloom, while Jessica Lange and Alison Lohman enact the parts of Bloom's wife present and past (MacGregor and Lohman look as if they could truly grow up to be Finney and Lange). Billy Crudup brings a subtle depth to the role of William and the scenes between him and Finney truly touch the heart. Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Buscemi and Danny De Vito round out the impressive cast. Maybe it says more about me than it does about the film that I ended up liking the parts that were the LEAST Burton-esque the best. But, then again, this is from someone who thinks that the comparatively earthbound "Ed Wood" is Burton's best film.
Edward Bloom has been a personable man and a great storyteller all his life. His fantastic tales have been loved by all, no matter how much truth or myth they may contain. But ever since his son, Will Bloom (Billy Crudup), was old enough to realize the stories couldn't be entirely true, he has resented his father's unwillingness to say things the way they are. Estranged as adults, Will visits his dying father (Albert Finney) in hopes of learning the truth behind the magnificent tales of Edward's youth and gaining an understanding of the man he has known only through elaborate myths. Although "Big Fish" is telling us the story of Edward and Will's relationship, Edward, true to form, tells us his life's story in fantastic tales. So the film spends most of its time recounting Edward Bloom's life story as he tells it, with young Edward played with great charm by Ewan McGregor. These adventures are a visual feast and don't seem to compete with the film's present-tense father-son drama. The myth and the drama are blended seamlessly, much to Tim Burton's and screenwriter John August's credit. The faults I find with "Big Fish" are that some of its stories would have been more interesting told rather than seen, and the odd conglomeration of stories that constitute Edward's repertoire sometimes give the film an uneven pace. It goes without saying that "Big Fish" is sentimental. It most closely resembles Burton's "Edward Scissorhands" in tone. The DVD: Bonus features include two multi-part featurettes, which can also be viewed during the film by activating a feature called "Fish Tales", a trivia quiz, and an audio commentary by director Tim Burton. When activated, "Fish Tales" displays an icon on your screen during the film's playback that will take you to the relevant featurette. The first featurette, "The Character's Journey" contains three parts, each focusing primarily on one of the film's characters: the young Edward Bloom, circus ringmaster Amos Callaway, and Will Bloom. The film's cast and director Tim Burton discuss the characters in interviews. The second featurette is "The Filmmaker's Path", which has four parts. Tim Burton talks about the film's themes and inspirations. The production designer and effects coordinators discuss their role in expressing those themes. The fourth part, which is entitled "The Author's Journey" and features interviews with author Daniel Wallace and screenwriter John August, may be of interest to those who have read the book. "The Fine Points: A Trivia Quiz" is a game which allows you to view a short documentary about filming the circus scene if you answer the trivia questions. Tim Burton's audio commentary has an unusual format. It's an interview, so there is someone asking Burton specific questions as the subjects come up during the movie. This makes the commentary kind of low-key, but very informative. Burton talks about every aspect of the film, from its themes in relation to his own life to comments about the performances to technical details of filming. Subtitles are available in English and French. Dubbing is available in French. There are two unavoidable previews on the disc.
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"Big Fish" is the latest bit of calculated whimsy from famed director Tim Burton. With a screenplay by John August based on the Daniel Wallace novel, Burton tells the tale of Edward Bloom, a man whose whole life has been one "big fish story" after another. Now old and facing death, Bloom needs to come up with a rousing finale to cap off his largely fictionalized life. Bloom's son, William, a realist and pragmatist, bitterly resents the "lies" his father has been feeding him ever since he was a boy, and yearns, in these last moments together, to hear the "true" story of the old man's life. But, in his investigation into the veracity of all the tall tales he's been told, William discovers that there may be more truth to these myths and legends than he has ever allowed himself to believe. He also realizes that, in debunking all the whoppers, he will be depriving his father of the one real trait that defines him as a person and that distinguishes him from everybody else.
Wow!! Big Fish was just brilliant. I loved every second of it. Tim Burton is just a genius, the man doesn't faile to entertain. Ewen Mc Gregor is now one of my favorite actors, i find him extreamly underated. Steve Buschemi was so funny in this move. The movie made me laugh, cry, think.........it was just incredible. DON'T MISS IT
