Review: Big Eyes Looks at Keane
Big Eyes. Amy Adams
From the opening credits, you could tell Tim Burton was involved in this film. Big Eyes stars Amy Adams as Margaret Keane and Christoph Waltz as Walter Keane, it was interesting and refreshing to see Tim Burton working with new actors rather than using Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter to fill the roles. Krysten Ritter (Breaking Bad, Veronica Mars) also made an appearance in the movie, playing Margaret Keane’s best friend, as well as Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore, Listen Up Philip).
Big Eyes is based on the real story of American artist Margaret Keane, whose husband, Walter Keane, took credit for her work during the 1960s and made a name for himself as a popular artist. Margaret Keane left Walter to go to Hawaii, where eventually a trial for the authentic authorship of the Big Eyes ensued, which Margaret won.
The bright colour palette of the film was beautiful and definitely fit the late 50s and early 60s aesthetic, it actually reminded me of Burton’s Edward Scissorhands. It was nice to see a movie without Burton’s usual CGI and horror driven vibes, although Burton’s imprint can be seen when Amy Adams’ character thinks people around her and herself have the same big eyes that she paints in her portraits.
Big Eyes. Amy Adams.
The film followed a slow stream of events, sometimes the scenes did not flow naturally and it seemed like something was missing to fill in the blanks. Nonetheless, it was a poignant film about a woman’s struggle in a man’s world, overshadowed by her husband.
Big Eyes. Amy Adams.
On top of being a worthwhile biopic, Lana del Rey contributed to the soundtrack with two original songs, Big Eyes and I Can Fly. The song Big Eyes was nominated for Best Original Song at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqoL5FA3Nzk
