This week, Matt Allpress expressed his adoration for Tim Burton‘s Big Fish. For his troubles, he picked up a double pass to Toy Story 1 and 2 (in 3D). You can win free movie tickets too by sending your mini-reviews to us here at Quickflix!
Is there anything more refreshing than Tim Burton working with someone other than Johnny Depp? I think it is unlikely. Ewan McGregor, in all his innocence and glory is loveable throughout; Helena Bonham Carter gives a performance that almost makes forgivable her effort as Bellatrix Lestrange in the Order Of The Phoenix, and the exaggerated, luscious palette create a welcome diversion from the general matte and ill-vibrance Burton is so well acquainted with. The flawlessly positioned parallels of Spectre and the ‘real’ world only serve to make the Big Fish universe a striking allegory for the cultural binary oppositions we face in our real world. Big Fish stretches the imagination with such beauty and a clear acceptance of its implausible plot that no amount of cynicism from Simon could make this any less than one of my favourite movies.
Cynicism?! From me! I resent that Mr. Allpress. That being said, I am not a fan of Big Fish (or Burton’s work in general). The man made one genuinely great film the in 1980s (Beetlejuice) and has spent the past 20 years rehashing the same old shtick over and over again. Sometimes it works (Ed Wood, Mars Attacks), but as the years go on he slides further into self parody (Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). “Oooh, look how kooky and weird my films are.” Not quite Mr. Burton. What you call kooky, I call soulless. Big Fish isn’t his worst offender, but seeing Burton attempt something so saccharine is kind of unsettling. Although the film features some great performances from McGregor, Billy Crudup and Albert Finney, it cannot make up for its emotional shortcomings. Burton is the Tin Man, and here he is pretending to have a heart.
