Big Fish 2003

Almost clapped when Danny Devito popped up on screen. Lovely little surprise.  This is definitely my favourite thing I’ve seen from Tim Burton, really lovely film. It’s told in a very unique way, showing a man’s life through his fantastical stories that he tells his son. It’s about his son at the end of his father’s life, looking for something real about his dad and discovering that maybe the stories he was told are enough.  I love how this film was structured, very well written. The unbelievable stories that were meant to be unbelievable. It also has a really lovely ending that I really enjoyed, made me a little emotional.  Surely he could have just asked his mum for stories that were true?  Ewan McGregor, Danny DeVito, Helena Bonham Carter and Steve Buscemi. Pretty cool cast. Some of the fantasy elements were really cool. I liked how time froze in his story about when he met his wife for the first time. Him walking through the circus and brushing aside the floating pieces of popcorn was a really cool effect. Little stuff like that was what made this film so fun. The fact the film is based in reality, yet in the father’s stories of his past, which makes up most of the film, they can be wacky or Tim burtony and it still feels so real as you know it’s all just exaggerations to make the stories more interesting. I kinda like that by the end of it you don’t really know what’s real and what’s fake, as the point in the story is it doesn’t really matter and just like his son at the end you are left content with the way the stories were told.  I think this was a very smart way to write a fantasy story and I really loved how the film was written.  8.5/10 First film I’ve watched on my TV in a while. It’s 5am now, glad I stayed awake for it though.