Big Fish

Released 2003
Stars Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Alison Lohman, Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Buscemi, Danny DeVito, Matthew McGrory
Directed by Tim Burton

Big Fish is the tale of how a son, William Bloom (Billy Crudup), tries to piece together a picture of the life of his father, Edward (Albert Finney), based on the facts he can uncover, the accounts of his mother, Sandy (Jessica Lange), and the tall tales told by the old man. Edward is an inveterate storyteller, with a penchant for embellishing events from his own life. As William puts it, "In telling the story of my father's life, it's impossible to separate fact from fiction, the man from the myth." But now Edward is dying and William must come to terms with all aspects of his father - the real and the imaginary. In the process, he discovers that some of Edward's supposed fantasies aren't as outlandish as he supposed.

Large chunks of Big Fish dramatize Edward's most impressive stories: how, as a boy, he had the courage to approach a witch and ask to see his future; how his growth spurt led him to seek out "bigger things;" how, as a young man (Ewan McGregor), he discovered the secret town of Spectre, and later met the love of his life, Sandy (Alison Lohman), at a circus. There are other tales, too - of giants, lycanthropes, armed robberies that don't go as planned, secret missions, Siamese twins, and fishing expeditions. In addition to telling a wonderful fairy tale, Burton is lauding the importance of storytelling and emphasizing the need to keep some element of magic and mystery in a world that has become coldly cynical.

Summary by James Berardinelli

I'm a fan of tall tales, and I was as impatient to get to them as Burton was. I came close to giving up on it it after a flat first act, but then it picked up. I liked the town of Spectre, the giant, and everything with the circus, but my favorite moment was when Edward first saw the love of his life. This is where Burton is at his best, and it was a magical moment. I'm rather jaded when it comes to special effects, but that moment made my spine tingle. Then everything began to work better, and Edward's optimism became contagious. The ending was even a little moving. This is not a great movie, but it's entertaining. --Bill Alward, August 1, 2004