Big Eyes

Those who have been somewhat concerned (perhaps even dismayed) by Tim Burton’s career of late will be intrigued to hear of the subject matter of his latest film.
Big Eyes is the biographical story of American artist Margaret Keane, whose works were passed off by her husband as his own – making him a fortune. Burton has been heavily criticised for having gone off the boil, sacrificing the emotional core of his characters in early films such as Edward Scissorhands and Ed Wood, for the large scale, big-bucks Hollywood spectacle of Alice In Wonderland and Dark Shadows. Nevertheless, tying these movies together was a sense of the fantastical, supernatural for which Burton has become so famous. That his upcoming movie is not only set in the real world but also based on a real story is a turn out for the books.
Big Eyes follows the emotional journey of Margaret Keane (Amy Adams) as she takes her husband Walter (Christopher Waltz) to court over his fraudulent sales of her artworks. The casting of Amy Adams and Christopher Waltz is exciting not just for their achievements so far: Adams has been nominated for five Academy Awards for her roles in films such as American Hustle and The Master, whilst Waltz has won two for his performances in Django Unchained and Inglourious Basterds. But also, their casting marks a departure from Burton’s go to leading man Johnny Depp, a partnership of which some audiences were growing tired. And with a reported budget of only $10m many are wondering if this could be a renaissance of the small scale, heartfelt Burton classics of the past.
Big Eyes will certainly be an absorbing story in itself. The cruelty of Walter’s insistence that his wife was mad brings a darker element to the famous court case. Hopefully though this will be more than just a good story and Burton’s eye for the extraordinary will bring out the macabre cynicism of Walter and the flashes of genius in Margaret.