Big Fish

-Columbia/Tristar (2003)

Summary

A son tries to find out who his father really is before it’s too late (and a bunch of other stuff happens).

My Thoughts

Big Fish is a film based on a book of the same title. What sets this film apart from the unusual plot is that it was directed by the talented Tim Burton. Tim Burton films have never really appealed to me with the exception of Batman, Beatlejuice, and Edward Scissor Hands. I either find his films a little too weird for me, or just plain stupid like Planet of the Apes . I wasn’t sure if this would fall into either one of the previous categories, and I was pleasantly surprised.

Big Fish is an unusual film to say the least. It begins with the introduction of Will Bloom, played by Billy Crudup. Will grew up hearing the elaborate yarns of his father, Ed Bloom, who's played by Albert Finney (older version) and Ewan McGregor (younger version). Will grows to resent his father’s tall tales, despite the fact that everyone around him loves these stories. Will can’t stand the fact that his father never tells the truth, or the fact that his father wasn’t around much as he was growing up. This growing resentment finally reaches a boiling point and leads to a break between the two. Several years later, Will learns that his father is dying of cancer. He goes to see him in an effort to find out who is father really was.  What Will doesn’t know is that stories his father tells are probably closer to the truth than he could ever imagine.

The film employs a great dichotomy of what is the “real” world and what is the world of the father’s “stories” are. The real world is filmed with such a straight feeling, that it makes the highly fantastical world of the father all that much more unusual and enjoyable. The stories of Edward Bloom are told by Albert Finney in an excellent and charming portrayal of a man at the end of his life. Ewan McGregor plays an even more charming and younger Ed in his fantastic journey through life. The casting is simply brilliant and the story unfolds in a magical way, until the utterly amazing ending. Big Fish’s ending is simply spectacular. I’m not going to spoil it for anyone, but it is probably one of the greatest film endings of all time.

Big Fish did have a few downsides. It took me a little while before the film actually enveloped me in its world. Once it did though, I was stuck till the very end. Also, I’ve said in a lot of reviews and editorials that nudity is always welcome in a film, but I had to take an exception with Big Fish. There’s a short shot of DANNY DEVITO’S ASS. That was way more than I’ve ever wanted to see.

The great thing about Big Fish is that it shows that the world can’t be seen in just blacks and whites, and that the line between what is “real” and what is “imagined” is very blurry. I’ve never thought a film such as this would come out of Hollywood, but I’m glad that it did. If you like Tim Burton’s previous work, are a crazy romantic, or like an amazing story, then this film is for you.

Extras

The shame of this film is that is that this amazing film is packaged as a fairly standard DVD.  There is a decent smattering of extras, but nothing that will overwhelm you.

Thankfully, there’s a directors commentary, and a director’s commentary from someone of Burton’s caliber is always a welcome thing.

The majority of extras are broken down into small featurettes that cover the topics of characters, setting, effects, and production. My personal favorite by far is “The Author’s Journey” which covers the writing of the book and lets you “meet” the author of the book and the screenwriter. Great stuff indeed.

Otherwise, there’s not much else for bonus features aside from a thing called “Fish Tales” that is more or less a “Follow the Rabbit” deal, and a quiz that’ll give you another bonus if you get all the questions right.

There are a couple of bad points to this edition, too. I hate when a DVD starts playing trailers when you put it in, but that can be forgiven. However, when you combine that with a bunch of previews that seem like completely random picks and no trailer for the Big Fish itself, well then you’ve really lost some points.  

Overall, it’s a pretty run of the mill edition and in no way a good match for the high quality of the film accompanying it. Still, don’t let this stop you from either buying or renting this superior film.

Score

Film: 9.5

Extras: 6.0

Edition: 7.0

 -Paul