Big Eyes – review

When Tim Burton has the right project he can accomplish great things. This film takes a look at a repressed artist and displays it with elaborate colors and big performances. Amy Adams is in top form for her performance as Margaret Keene. 

Margaret Keene, played by Amy Adams, is a ‘50s suburban housewife who leaves her husband in an attempt to gain some freedom in her life. She meets and falls in love with Walter, played by Christoph Waltz. Margaret’s paintings become successful but Walter takes credit for them. This causes much turmoil and eventually ruins their marriage.

Amy Adams is great at portraying the stereotypical ‘50s housewife. She looks repressed and the pain on her face is evident in nearly every shot. The lies she tells to keep up this ruse are truly tearing her up inside. Christoph Waltz plays a great sneaky con man. His snake-oil salesman grin is perfect for the role and at no time did I think he didn’t believe his own hype. The only thing I would have toned down was the courtroom scene. In that scene Walter’s character goes from sophisticated con man to clownish fool.

The movie itself is beautiful. There are so many colors on screen it was sometimes hard to believe it was a Tim Burton film.  Another cool effect were people cast in small roles with larger eyes. For example, Krysten Ritter. I am not sure if that was by design or if the make-up department made it obvious that eyes were important in the movie. It was hard not to notice them.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes an underdog story. It is a good movie despite some hi-jinx by Waltz. The story of an artist wanting to be recognized for her work in a world that basically kept her silent is worth telling. It has some great performances and stunning visuals. It is certainly worth a matinee viewing at the very least.