I love Tim Burton films and was really looking forward to seeing Big Eyes, the the true story of a husband and wife team who turned the art world on its ear in the early 60s with a series of paintings of children with huge, sad eyes. I recall my cousins having a couple of these prints in their rooms and they creeped me out.
The husband, Walter Keane, is played by Christoph Waltz, whom you'll remember from "Inglorious Basterds" and "Django." His wife, Margaret, is played by Amy Adams, who was the "real painter" and came up with the concept of the big-eyed children. Walter was instrumental in changing the access the buying public had to art and overnight created a fortune by making his wife's art available on a larger scale. But the real twist was that Walter was the "face" of the art movement, but it was his wife who was actually creating the paintings that were so wildly popular. What began as a "little white lie" to get people to buy the prints of the big-eyed children, turned into an out-of-control scenario that is eerily similar to the Milli Vanilla scandal that occurred 30 years later.
Walter took credit as the painter and was in huge demand, so he got all the interviews, recognition and glory while his wife had to pump out hundreds of paintings without anyone knowing she was the real creative force behind this wildly popular art piece. The pressure and guilt associated with living a lie that had overtaken their lives eventually destroyed their marriage.
The story of trying to keep the lie intact while putting on a pretty face was fascinating. Tim Burton did a very nice job with this story and many of the scenes had that "Burton feel" about them, but were not over the top as he is prone to do. I enjoyed the movie, but it is a bit slower paced, but I thought Burton's depiction of the couple and the lengths they had to go through to pull off the lie was intriguing. I do recommend this movie, but catch it at the dollar theater, Red Box or NetFlix instead of plopping down the 10-12 bucks at the theater. I enjoyed this one, so I'll give this one 7.5 out of 10 Sooner Schooners.
The husband, Walter Keane, is played by Christoph Waltz, whom you'll remember from "Inglorious Basterds" and "Django." His wife, Margaret, is played by Amy Adams, who was the "real painter" and came up with the concept of the big-eyed children. Walter was instrumental in changing the access the buying public had to art and overnight created a fortune by making his wife's art available on a larger scale. But the real twist was that Walter was the "face" of the art movement, but it was his wife who was actually creating the paintings that were so wildly popular. What began as a "little white lie" to get people to buy the prints of the big-eyed children, turned into an out-of-control scenario that is eerily similar to the Milli Vanilla scandal that occurred 30 years later.
Walter took credit as the painter and was in huge demand, so he got all the interviews, recognition and glory while his wife had to pump out hundreds of paintings without anyone knowing she was the real creative force behind this wildly popular art piece. The pressure and guilt associated with living a lie that had overtaken their lives eventually destroyed their marriage.
The story of trying to keep the lie intact while putting on a pretty face was fascinating. Tim Burton did a very nice job with this story and many of the scenes had that "Burton feel" about them, but were not over the top as he is prone to do. I enjoyed the movie, but it is a bit slower paced, but I thought Burton's depiction of the couple and the lengths they had to go through to pull off the lie was intriguing. I do recommend this movie, but catch it at the dollar theater, Red Box or NetFlix instead of plopping down the 10-12 bucks at the theater. I enjoyed this one, so I'll give this one 7.5 out of 10 Sooner Schooners.
