''Big Eyes'' (2014 film)- Review

Directed by: Tim Burton
Released: 2014
Country: United States

Genre: Biographical drama

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Review

''Big Eyes'' tells the story of artist Margaret, played by Amy Adams. At the beginning of the film, Margaret leaves her husband and arrives in San Fransisco with her daughter. Margaret is good at painting and has always wanted to be an artist. Her paintings are those of little children and all the children in her paintings have big eyes. In San Fransisco, Margaret comes across Walter Keane, played by Christoph Waltz. Walter says that he is an artist and shows Margaret the street scenes that he has painted. Walter being a charming man, Margaret falls in love with him and they decide to get married. After their marriage, certain incidents cause Walter to come up with an idea: he decides to sell Margaret's paintings under his own name and gradually Margaret's paintings become very famous and they sell very quickly- and Walter takes the credits. Although he initially tries to keep this a secret from Margaret, she eventually finds out. She is shocked and crestfallen: her paintings are like her children, she never imagined Walter to be capable of doing such a thing. However, Walter manages to convince Margaret to play along, and although Margaret is disappointed and sad about it all, she agrees. But how long will this continue? How long will Margaret tolerate being wronged?

''Big Eyes'' tells the story of Margaret Keane beautifully. Over the course of the film- thanks to the great screenplay and the great performance by Amy Adams- she becomes a very deep, well-developed character. We can see how much she loves and cherishes her art, and we can feel how she wronged she feels when someone else takes credit for them right in front of her eyes. The story was developed strongly enough to make it possible for me to follow Margaret through what she faces and feel how crestfallen she feels at being wronged. And I felt so very mad at Walter. Although initially a charming character, he becomes a rather detestable, greedy character over the course of the film, I hated him for how he kept wronging Margaret. Christoph Waltz does a very good job portraying him. I also loved Madeleine Arthur, who plays Margaret's daughter Jane. Over the course of the film she becomes a very important supporting character and I loved the way she felt for and supported her mother. 

''Big Eyes'' is Tim Burton's best film since ''Sweeney Todd'' and is undoubtedly one of the best films of his career. Through its portrayal of what Margaret Keane had to face, it depicts the constant struggle of a woman to establish herself- and her opinions- in a patriarchal society. With excellent performances from Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz, a great screenplay and beautiful cinematography, ''Big Eyes'' is a very thought-provoking film.