Big Fish (2003)
The Cast
Ewan McGregor .... Younger Ed Bloom
Albert Finney .... Older Ed Bloom
Billy Crudup .... Will Bloom
Jessica Lange .... Older Sandra Bloom
Helena Bonham Carter .... Younger & Older Jenny/The Witch
Alison Lohman .... Younger Sandra Bloom
Robert Guillaume .... Older Dr. Bennett
Marion Cotillard .... Josephine
Matthew McGrory .... Karl the Giant
David Denman .... Don Price - Age 18-22
Missi Pyle .... Mildred
Loudon Wainwright III .... Beamen
Ada Tai .... Ping
Arlene Tai .... Ting
Steve Buscemi .... Norther Winslow
Danny DeVito .... Amos Calloway
There are many dividing characteristics of movie fans. Some people can sit down and enjoy a dumb teen comedy, some people love arthouse indie films, some adore the popcorn movie blockbusters. Some movie fans can sit down and find ways to appreciate the many different genres of film equally. Then there are those that are diehard Tom Burton fans, that love and worship every film he makes for whatever reason. These Burtonites will turn a blind eye to his many shortcomings as a director and declare how much they ♥ The Nightmare Before Christmas and so on (even though he didn't direct Nightmare). I find Burton to be far too overpraised as a director, even though he may have created a few magical worlds over the years. So it's kind of funny that the Burton movie I actually do love is the one that seems to be furthest from what is generally determined as Burton-esque.
If you haven't had the pleasure of experiencing this movie, let me give you a little background detail, a plot synopsis if you will. Based on the novel by Daniel Wallace and adapted to the screen by John August, Tim Burton directs the tale of Edward Bloom (Finney), a man who has lived an amazing life... to hear him tell it. With Bloom's final days looming before him, his son Will (Crudup) returns from France with his pregnant wife Josephine (Cotillard) to see his father one final time. Will has lived his entire life hearing Bloom's tall tales about his many unbelievable exploits and really doesn't know what to believe from his father's mouth. Everything his father has told him - from the story of how Bloom met his wife and Will's mother, Sandra (Lange), to the recounting of how Bloom once met an old witch (Carter) in a swamp and showed Bloom how he was going to die - Will has no faith in. This events that are recounted in this movie go a long way towards restoring Will's faith in his father.
I find it ridiculous that the only Oscar this movie was nominated for was for Danny Elfman's wonderful score. Ewan McGregor delivers a performance that is half acting, half imitating Albert Finney as the younger version of Edward Bloom. It's probably McGregor's finest performance to date, and easily makes you forget about those space movies he's been classing up for the past few years. Alison Lohman is pretty much the spitting image of a younger Jessica Lange, and while she doesn't have much screentime, Lohman lights up the screen everytime she's on it. Finney and Lange deliver beautifully understated performances, making the whole farfetched story seem truly believable.
Everyone involved in this movie seems to know exactly the right notes to hit. From Danny Devito's wonderful circus ringleader to David Denman's performance that probably gave someone the idea to cast him as Roy on The Office. Everything in this movie looks gorgeous in a realistic manner, no matter how preposterous the situation may be. There are scenes throughout this movie that seem so normal you'd think Tim Burton must've been having a fit, wanting to put stripes on everything.
There are many movies that I rate as 5-star masterpieces, but there aren't too many of them that I actually love. This was my number one movie for 2003, and when I first watched it in the theatre, I nearly broke down in tears at that final storytelling scene. A powerful, moving and emotionally stimulating film, one that I treasure and the one movie that might not define Tim Burton's resume, but I'll always view it as his best film.
5 / 5
BONUS Top Five Tim Burton Movies
5. Batman (1989) - sadly, it's the second best Batman movie ever
4. Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) - an inspired lunatic road trip movie
3. Ed Wood (1994) - great Johnny Depp performance to go along with Burton's love of Ed Wood's films
2. Beetle Juice (1988) - wonderful Michael Keaton madcap performance in a whimsically psychotic world
1. Big Fish (2003) - duh