Directed by Tim Burton. Written by Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski.
Starring Amy Adams (Margaret Keane), Cristoph Waltz (Walter Keane), Krysten
Ritter (DeeAnn).
Bottom line: Big Eyes is
a really solid movie but I can’t help but be left with the feeling that they
could’ve gone further in some respects.
3/4
Big Eyes is fascinating true(ish) story of the Walter and
Margaret Keane who attained world fame through Margaret's interesting art
style.
The movie opens with a shot of 1950's American suburbs. The
camera enters one of the houses and we see Margaret and her daughter packing to
leave Margaret’s husband. That isn't something someone does in the 1950's. She
moves San Francisco to start a new life as a single mother. She soon meets a
charismatic painter named Walter. The pair gets married and live in artistic,
romantic bliss. Walter, as shrewd businessman, discovers the economic potential
of Margaret's unique style. Unbeknownst to Margaret, Walter takes credit for
the Big Eyes. He’s a natural salesman and knows how difficult it would be to
sell a woman's art. When Margaret learns of his actions, she feels betray but
she complies. Thus begins a decade long scam that took the world and the art
world by storm.
Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz each give a wonderful
performance. Adams received a Golden Globe for her role at Margaret, after all.
This a directed by Tim Burton and, remarkably, it doesn’t have Johnny Depp or
Helen Bonham Carter. There are some really good camera shots and I liked the
music.
Thematically, Big Eyes
provides a lot of food for thought. It’s fascinating to her Margaret’s
story; in the fifties, women let alone mother’s never left their husbands, then
to take their gender issues a step further, Walter asserts that no one buys
female artists work, and on some level, it was true. Big Eyes also plays with the idea of the relationship to art – not
only between the consumer and the art, but the artist and the art, even the
artist and the consumer.
Have you seen Ratatouille?
If you haven’t, please do. It’s adorable. In this movie, the villain is a tall,
thin, skeletal food critic named Anton Ego (Peter O’toole). “For a person who
likes food, you’re pretty thin,” quips a character. To which Anton responds
with, “I don’t like food; I love it. If I don’t love it, I don’t
swallow.” That’s the type of character we’re talking about. There is a
remarkably similar character in Big Eyes.
He’s a critic named Terence Stamp (John Canaday). When Stamp is introduced, he
is giving a scathing review to the Big Eye painting, “…this is why the world
needs critics: to protect the public from garbage like this.” He’s a character
that returns at several points in the story but the relationship between the
art and the critic and the public is one I always find interesting.
After all, that’s what I trying to be with this blog. I love
movies. I know that if I don’t like a movie or like a movie, there will be a
ton of people who like it. That’s totally fine. It serves as a reminder. When I
post a review it isn’t so much about passing judgment but discussing my
experiences with a movie.
Discussions about the merits of a work of art are complex. I
hesitate to get much further into it because there are books, course, even
careers built on that question alone. The film opens with a quote by Warhol
saying, ‘If people like it, that’s all that matters,’ which gives some incite
into the position it might be taking.
Overall, I’d recommend Big
Eyes. You don’t even have to like the Big Eyes art to enjoy the movie. I’m
not the biggest fan of it but I enjoyed watching and thinking about the issues
the film brings up.
There is one scene that nearly caused me to laugh out loud.
Margaret is walking through a grocery store – I’m not totally positive that it
wasn’t a dream sequence but, in any case, we see a stack of Campbell Soup cans
near a Big Eyes merchandise stand. Racked by conflict and guilt over the Big
Eyes success, Margaret quietly walks to the cash register. She looks up at the
cashier and stands, stunned. The cashier has big eyes! Margaret looks around
and sees the impatient family behind her (a mother, daughter, and son) that has
big eyes. “Don’t forget this is directed by Tim Burton,” screamed this scene.
Other than that, there was a lot of restraint shown throughout the movie so it
didn’t become over stylized. I, for one, really appreciated it.
My one major complaint about the movie is that it didn’t
quite go far enough. It was solid until about halfway through or maybe
three-quarters when they turned Waltz’s character into a domineering monster.
Like nearly The Shining level crazy.
They really didn’t have to do that either. I mean, Walter Keane was a person
after all. He had feelings and hopes and dreams just like Margaret but because
he had a fiery temper, he was demonized. Margaret, after all, was complicit in
the scheme for a long time too. I wish the film would’ve gone further in terms
of developing their characters. But I’m not surprised they went in this
direction. Tim Burton is a collector of the Big Eyes paintings and has always
been a big fan of Margaret’s art, so you can see where his sympathies lie.
Have you seen Big Eyes?
Do you like that style of art? What did you think about the characterization of
Walter Keane?
Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment below!
