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Big Fish Director: Tim Burton Rated PG-13 
‘Big Fish’ is one of those rare films that makes you love Life and all of its ups and downs without rubbing your face in sickly saccharine clichés and tired old plot devices. Tim Burton, thankfully relieving Spielberg of directorial duties, delivers yet another brilliant film to his fans. Being a huge Burton fan, I was excited about the prospect of seeing how he would once again surpass all expectations. After the critical drubbing he received for 2001’s ‘Planet Of The Apes’ (I thought it was okay. It looked great, didn’t it?), one would think he’d really try and impress with his most recent film. The fact is Tim Burton doesn’t need to try. He does what he wants and he does it damn well, thank you very much. Okay. Enough praise for the man. Now onto the film itself. Billy Crudup plays Will Bloom, a young man who becomes increasingly exasperated by his father (Ed Bloom played wonderfully by Albert Finney) and the tall tales his father tells him. Will desperately searches for the answers to his father’s true identity and along the way, we are treated to flashbacks involving conjoined twins, giants and witches. Ewan McGregor, who I’ve never really been fond of, flashes the most heart-warming smiles and plays the young Ed Bloom with aplomb and now I can’t help but love the man. While the big name cast is astoundingly good, the award should go to the gentle giant Karl, played by Matthew McGrory. I don’t want to give anything away nor do I want to hype the film to unreasonable standards but you really have to believe me when I say: THIS IS THE GREATEST FILM YOU WILL SEE THIS YEAR and you would have to have glaciers coursing through your dead, black heart to not fall in love with the wonderful characters. Burton mainstay Danny Elfman provides the score once again, and, like some of Elfman’s other scores (‘Edward Scissorhands,’ ‘Sleepy Hollow’), you forget that it’s there and all of a sudden realise that the music is, in part, making your heart flutter and your eyes water. Yep, it’s a bit of a weepy film but in the most wonderful way. Look, all you really need to know is this: great cast, beautiful story for all ages (although the squeamish may not want to see Danny DeVito’s buttocks), Danny Elfman score and Tim Burton as director. It’s a tried and true formula without being the least bit formulaic. |
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