I approached seeing Big Eyes<\/i><\/b> with a degree of ambivalence. In my opinion, Tim Burton’s filmography is a mixed bag of highly entertaining works and significant missteps. While he often flirts with brilliance, he rarely achieves true masterpiece status. He has gifted us with films such as Big Fish, Nightmare Before Christmas <\/i>(which he wrote, though did not direct), and Edward Scissorhands<\/i>, but has also delivered disappointments like Batman Returns<\/i> and the arguably overrated Mars Attacks<\/i>.<\/p>\n
In his latest film, Big Eyes, <\/i>Burton replaces his frequent collaborators, Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp, with Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz. The result is a Tim Burton film that may deviate from his signature eccentricity, yet, at least in my view, proves more compelling than some of his more outlandish productions.<\/p>\n
Amy Adams portrays Margaret Keane, an artist initially overlooked in the San Francisco art scene of the fifties and sixties. Keane is a talented painter who gained recognition for her distinctive portraits of children with large eyes. The film focuses on the period when her husband, Walter Keane, played by Christoph Waltz, fraudulently claimed authorship of the “Big Eyes” paintings.<\/p>\n
While Amy Adams delivers a captivating performance and truly anchors the film, Waltz makes a strong, albeit familiar, impact. His performance embodies the unreserved intensity that has become his trademark. This approach, while initially captivating in Inglourious Basterds<\/em> and Django Unchained<\/em> (his two collaborations with Tarantino, the latter also earning him an Oscar), feels somewhat excessive under Burton’s direction. To be clear, Big Eyes<\/em> is a commendable film, but the Burton\/Waltz dynamic leads to a somewhat jarring final twenty minutes, resembling a courtroom farce that struggles to find its comedic footing. This tonal shift may be intentional, but it clashes with the rest of the film, which maintains a more subdued and unsettling atmosphere as we witness Margaret’s struggle against her manipulative and psychologically unstable husband.<\/p>\n The film’s narrative arc is undoubtedly engaging, unsettling, and visually rich. Big Eyes’<\/em> soundscape is largely defined by Danny Elfman’s score, which while occasionally conforming to standard blockbuster conventions, often surpasses the work of composers like Hans Zimmer. Lana Del Rey contributed two original songs, Big Eyes<\/i> and I Can Fly<\/i>, which are almost worth the price of admission. So, beyond the music, is Big Eyes<\/em> worth seeing? Yes, absolutely. Despite my reservations about Tim Burton and my mixed feelings regarding Christoph Waltz’s performance, the film is both entertaining and insightful. Amy Adams truly shines as Margaret Keane, a role for which she deservedly won a Golden Globe. The story of Keane warrants attention, particularly for its commentary on the societal biases against women and their artistic contributions in the mid-20th century. The film highlights the lack of recognition afforded to what was dismissively labeled “women’s art.”<\/p>\n