Big Fish
April 12, 2004Grade: B+
Tim Burton’s latest flick, Big Fish, finally made it to the dollar cinema so I went to go see it this past weekend. And while it isn’t the kind of movie I’d want to watch over and over again, it was nonetheless a pleasant little flick.
The story is about William Blook (played by Billy Crudup) who comes home to make peace with his dying father Edward Bloom (Albert Finney). They’re estranged because William feels like all the stories his father told him growing up are just lies, and he’s never really gotten to see the real man his father is. But as William and Edward revisit the old tales we realize that there are kernels of truth in every tall tale.
Ewan MacGregor plays the young Edward Bloom in a series of flashbacks, and it’s really that performance which I think makes the film work. Edward is a real social guy, makes friends everywhere he goes, and lives the kind of fantastical life anyone would want. Of course we cannot tell which part of his tall tales are true but it’s such an entertaining life we don’t really care what’s real or not. It’s that understanding which eventually comes to William Bloom as he watches his father pass away.
Again, I like the movie–the acting was well done, and the special effects were nicely non-intrusive which is what you want in a fairy tale like this. But it’s not the kind of movie I’d want to buy on DVD for repeat watching. Still, I can recommend this to anyone who wants to see a nice, charming movie. Quite a departure from some of Tim Burton’s darker flicks like Planet of the Apes or Edward Scissorhands.
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