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Big Eyes

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Big Eyes

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Summary

Biographical drama starring Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz. In the 1950s and 60s American artist Walter Keane finds fame with his paintings of waifs with wide eyes. However, his reputation soon comes under scrutiny after it emerges that his wife, Margaret, is the real talent behind this body of work.

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IMDB

Review

A star rating of 3 out of 5.

Emma Simmonds

Director Tim Burton turns his sorcerer's sights on this real-life story, adding a smattering of the fantastic to a tale of fraud and female subjugation in the 1950s and 60s. Amy Adams stars as artist Margaret Keane, whose paintings of doe-eyed children were phenomenally successful, and Christoph Waltz plays her exuberant conman husband, manipulating her in order to take credit for her work, and thus compromising her identity. Burton's directorial style is a good visual match for the subject matter - the film has the soft, cartoonish look of one of Keane's paintings. It's kitsch and amusing, albeit shallow, and trivialises the abuse that Margaret must endure. The script more generally tends toward the blunt, with Danny Huston's narration over-explanatory and an over-the-top performance by Waltz that builds to a cringe-making courtroom appearance. While all around her is broad-brush, Adams acts with bewitching delicacy to anchor the film. What Burton's approach most lacks is insight - big eyes don't see too deeply - but it's still a fascinating story told with flair.

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6.9/10

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Credits

Cast

rolenameMargaret KeaneAmy AdamsWalter KeaneChristoph WaltzDick NolanDanny HustonDeeAnnKrysten RitterRubenJason SchwartzmanJohn CanadayTerence StampEnrico BanducciJon Polito

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Crew

rolenameDirectorTim Burton

Details

Theatrical distributor

Entertainment

Released on

2014-12-26

Languages

English | Italian | French

Guidance

Swearing.

Available on

DVD and Blu-ray

Formats

Colour

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