The true story of painter Margaret Keane's life in obscurity while her husband gleaned the notoriety for being the face of her work is brought to the screen by Tim Burton and his Ed Wood screenwriters, Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. Danny Huston, Terence Stamp, and Jason Schwartzman co-star. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi
Director: Tim Burton
Cast: Christoph Waltz, Amy Adams, Terence Stamp, Krysten
Ritter, Danny Huston, Terence Stamp, Jason Schwartzman
Release Date: Dec
25, 2014
Rated PG-13
Runtime: 1 hr. 46 min.
Genres: Biopic, Tragi-comedy, Drama
Review:
Big Eyes is the type of film that Tim Burton should make
more often, just to keep himself honest.
A smaller, more personal film would remind the masses that he’s a capable
director outside of his tried and true tropes.
That’s not to say that this isn’t a Burton
film because it is albeit a less garish version of his films. Burton’s
film is still visually eye catching even if there isn’t a gothic or fantastical
element at play. He delivers a glossy,
light film that’s easy to enjoy but hard to get close to. Its heart and soul is Amy Adams who
performance is a collection of varying levels of subtly. Adams gives us a peek
into the psyche of Margaret Keane even if the script never does. On the opposite end of the spectrum is
Christoph Waltz who’s in full sleezy salesman mode. Watlz is given free reign to take his
character to extremes which almost drown out anything else on screen, including
Adams. Burton
would have been well served if he’d reigned him in just a tad and the script
given us more insight into the people and relationships. Instead, they’re both painted with broad
strokes lacking the kind of detail that would have made this film truly
special.
B
