A drama about the awakening of the painter Margaret Keane, her phenomenal success in the 1950s, and the subsequent legal difficulties she had with her husband, who claimed credit for her works in the 1960s.
This movie wants to be an oil painting, but ends up being more of a mass-produced, though good-quality print.
In short – it is artistic. Burton’s study of the strange case of Margaret and Walter Keane is a diverting black comedy which dramatises relevant questions about sexual stereotype and artistic authorship.
Big Eyes works best when it sticks to the classic “woman’s picture” melodrama stylings of its story’s time period, which Burton does seem to be aiming for much of the time.
Though the result may not be perfect, one thing is difficult to ignore: Big Eyes is more than just another factory produced Burton film.
Not bad, but a little paint-by-numbers.
t refreshes to see Burton tackle more personal fare, but Big Eyes doesn’t quite cut it. This is never as amusing, dramatic or emotional as it should be.
There are hints of Sweet Smell of Success' JJ Hunsecker in Huston’s portrayal but his narration isn’t entirely successful due to a tendency to explain too much of what we have already seen.
Tim Burton’s return to real-life storytelling is entertaining but flawed. See it for a fascinating true story and a fantastic Amy Adams. Beware the uneven tone, a lack of depth and Christoph Waltz’s monumental mugging.
A simply told stranger-than-fiction biog which, at the very least, zooms by.
If Big Eyes is low key by Tim Burton standards, it is also always a wonderfully offbeat and subversive alternative to the typical artist biopic.
Tim Burton’s retelling of the story of the painter Margaret Keane is an insightful study of character and the nature of art.
The end result, devoid for the most part of “Burton-esque” flourishes, feels like a deceptively complex formal experiment, one designed to reflect what happened to Keane by celebrating artlessness as a valid form of artistic expression.
The less you know about the story the better but safe to say it builds to a bizarre courtroom confrontation. If it wasn't true you wouldn't believe it, but it is a hoot.
Big Eyes: Tim Burton on art fraud that shocked America
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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