Even with the advanced state of special effects in cinema today, it's not too often we are treated to a movie that simultaneously features a mermaid, a set of Siamese twins, a giant, a werewolf, and a witch. That's why a movie like Big Fish, which changes directions completely every five minutes, is a welcome bit of moviemaking. With John August's screenplay, based on a novel by Daniel Wallace, any traditional right-side-up expectations we bring to the viewing table are quickly turned on their ear. And what it lacks in consistency, it makes up for in creativity.
The film stars Albert Finney as Edward Bloom, an eccentric man who is estranged from his son, William (Billy Crudup). When William re-enters his father's life, it is in the hopes of getting to the truth behind the tall tales he heard as a child. The anecdotes are relived through a series of flashbacks, where a young Edward (Ewan McGregor) is depicted doing any number of wild and exciting things. Whether it's seeing into his own future through the eyes of a mysterious sorceress, or discovering a fantastical, hidden town that no one has ever left, the stories incorporate varying degrees of the fantastical but always make for fun storytelling.
The vignettes begin to map out young Edward's destiny. First, he catches a glimpse of the lovely Sandy (Alison Lohman) at a circus (which, incidentally, never seems to leave the town it's located in, over the span of some thirty or forty years), then he goes to extreme lengths to win her heart and her hand in marriage. He also reconnects with old friends and acquaintances, some in more unusual circumstances than others. All of this culminates in an unexpectedly poignant dénouement, but not for the reasons we might think.
Of all the possible Academy Award nominations Big Fish could have gotten (it only received one, for Danny Elfman's score, which lost to Lord of the Rings: Return of the King), I am surprised it didn't earn a nod for art direction. A sumptuous feast for the eyes, the movie presents not only the past and the present, but seemingly other worlds which all the while are grounded in American settings and backdrops. Director Tim Burton has always had a flair for presenting the off-kilter, and here he continues this trend while opting to steer relatively clear of CGI enhancements/detractions.
The cast has its ups and downs. McGregor is almost always likable in everything he does and here is no exception. He makes young Edward into a starry-eyed optimist and romantic. This may be part of the reason Finney's counterpoint comes off as so jarring a performance. Although it's more likely to be through the fault of the script, older Edward comes across as overly hammy, and, worse, seems a different character entirely. It would appear at some point in his life, Edward went from being an active listener who spoke the truth to a talkative spinner of long tales; the two approaches are incongruous. Jessica Lange doesn't fare much better as the doting, younger wife with not much to do, and, while cameos by Danny Devito and Steve Buscemi are charming novelties, both actors seem like they're treading familiar ground. Odd, then, to see Crudup and Lohman turn in appropriately restrained performances.
With Big Fish, Burton uses a number of different lures and, on occasion, manages to reel in a couple of fair-sized ones. It will no doubt work best for those who don't see the familiarity in some of the scenes involving a smalltown hero with a Southern accent winning that big football game while pop songs from yester-year boom on the soundtrack (see Zemeckis projects circa 1994). Despite the mis-steps, its heart is in the right place and will no doubt make a fine cult favourite at rental stores in the years to come.
