Big Eyes – review

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For the last few years, it has felt like Tim Burton has been making his films by formula, as if he has had his own personal check-list; Johnny Depp: tick, Helena Bonham Carter: tick, music by Danny Elfman: tick. There is often style but very rarely substance. So, does Big Eyes provide a return to form for the cult favourite director or does it continue his rut of cliches and tropes? Thankfully, it is the former.

Reuniting with screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, who worked with the director on his biopic Ed Wood (1994), and a relatively low budget of only $16 million, Burton has crafted a genuinely intriguing film with a strong emotional core. The film revolves around the relationship between famous, real life artists Walter and Margaret Keane, played here by Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams respectively. Walter is a sleazy but charming artist (or possibly con artist), trying to escape his bourgeoisie life and seek recognition as an artist, while Margaret is a timid and talented artist who merely wants to get by and create a decent life for her daughter. Walter wheels and deals his way through the art scene, and, after an accidental pitch, Margaret’s art is mistaken for his own. Intoxicated by prestige and praise, he plays along and convinces Margaret to be an accomplice to this fraud and to use his sale tactics to peddle her art. Walter’s reputation grows while the lie begins to snowball, separating the couple as Walter begins to believe his own press.

Amy Adams is excellent as the conflicted artist. She conveys the personal sacrifice of forfeiting not only fame and recognition of her work, but also her art. It is clear that the time she spent speaking and learning from the actual Margaret Keane added to her performance and a greater understanding of the artist herself. Yet, it must be said that Waltz is the main attraction here. Stealing every scene, Waltz plays the perfect slimy con artist that manages to creep his way into stardom, and Waltz’s performance manages to find the heart to this character, displaying the desire and ultimately jealousy that leads him down his delusional path. Walter is never unlikable and retains an ounce of humanity that allows the audience to understand why Margaret was willing to accede to his demands.

The film also examines the social imbalance of gender at the time, something still relevant today. Both inside the relationship and in the professional world, Walter is the dominant partner, hiding his wife away, locking her in a room and leaching off her talent. She is neither seen nor heard and exists only in his shadow as even she believes that nobody would buy a painting by a woman. Burton and Adams manage to capture the genuine desperation and captivity of a woman trapped in the socially repressive 1950s, showing how far we really have come today.

Big Eyes isn’t a complicated film but it doesn’t have to be. It has a good script and tells an interesting story that is brought to life by two extremely gifted actors. While Burton may have been in a rut as of late, this is certainly his best film in some time. It is an old saying that, “If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it, and you will even come to believe it yourself.” The characters of Big Eyes eventually find this to be true.

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