Catharine Burhenne
It’s important to watch Big Fish without thinking about Tim Burton. Many fans and critics have gotten so bogged down in the director’s previous works that they can’t help but compare them to this film. Even though Burton’s wife (Helena Bonham Carter) still makes an appearance, this is one of the very few pieces by the director where he merely steps back and tells a story; as opposed to his other films, that have semi-autobiographical plot elements and visuals that scream “Burtonesque.” This movie is a reminder that he can be a good director, and not just a novelty or spectacle. Although there is plenty of spectacle in Big Fish, it is balanced with tales of love and relationships between family and loved ones. Fish needs to be taken on its own merit as a lovely, fantastical story designed to both delight and tug at the heartstrings. Sometimes it’s good to indulge in an overly sentimental film. Sit back and allow yourself to be entertained and moved.
The plot centers around Edward Bloom (Ewan MacGregor and Albert Finney) who has lead two lives throughout his adult life. One with his wife Sandra (Alison Lohman and Jessica Lange) and son Will (Billy Crudup), the second in a picturesque, idealized traveling circus, complete with many interesting and charming sideshow “freaks.” Edward claims his adventures were real, they are a part of his history; Will has grown tired of the tales and would rather hold Edward accountable for all the times he was never around to support the family (including Will’s birth). Edward was seemingly too engaged with his fantasy life to be bothered with the real. Now he is dying and Will sets out to retrace the steps of his dad’s life, searching for meaning and trying to sort out the actual from the fantastic.
The film nicely balances multiple characters and storylines in a realistic present-day world and an imaginative land of tall tales, even if it does favor the fantasy world a little too much. The all-star cast includes Marion Cotillard, Steve Buscemi, Danny DeVito, and actual giant Matthew McGrory.
Throughout the stories of outlandish travel and epic romance, the real heart of the film lies in the father-son relationship. All the tall tales that Will is now forced to sit through (which was probably a fairly regular occurrence growing-up) are the only way this man knows how to connect to his son and attempt to teach him something of value. This could have easily been set up as a typical bad-son or bad-father reconciliation plotline, but the characters and their relationship are more complicated than that. Although the elder Edward’s spirt shines so bright and his stories are so desirable, Will still elicits sympathy from the audience through his understated emotion and understandable plight. Billy Crudup was a stroke of perfect casting, and his realistic style grounds the film. Ultimately, the movie is asking the question of what is better: the reality or the fantasy?
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