Big Fish
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| Big Fish | |
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| Directed by | Tim Burton |
| Produced by | Bruce Cohen Dan Jinks Richard D. Zanuck |
| Written by | John August & Daniel Wallace (novel) |
| Starring | Ewan McGregor Billy Crudup Albert Finney Jessica Lange Matthew McGrory Helena Bonham Carter Steve Buscemi Alison Lohman Danny DeVito |
| Music by | Danny Elfman |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | December 10, 2003 (USA) |
| Running time | 125 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $70 million |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Big Fish is a 2003 film directed by Tim Burton and written by John August, starring Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup and Jessica Lange. It is loosely based on the novel Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions by Daniel Wallace.
Big Fish received four Golden Globe nominations and one Oscar nomination for Danny Elfman's original score. The film is much less gothic than some of Burton's other works such as Edward Scissorhands and Sleepy Hollow.
[edit] Plot
The film follows the incredible life story of Edward Bloom (McGregor/Finney) and his strained relationship with his son, Will (Crudup). Will hasn't talked to his father for years, following an incident that strengthened his belief that his father was a liar who didn't care about his family. He approaches him again only after he learns that his father is dying. The tension between father and son is very real and seems as though the two cannot reconcile their differences.
Through flashbacks, Will tries to recall and piece together the stories his father used to tell him about his many adventures and how he lived his life, which he believes to be just tall tales and impossible to believe. Bloom's stories contain fantasy elements: a witch, a giant, a werewolf, and so on, showing him as a lucky hero with few personal flaws.
Will sets out to grasp the idea behind these stories and to discover the truth about the real Edward Bloom. When it all comes together, it turns out that Edward's "unbelievable stories" are shown to have some element of truth (e.g., Will meets a giant who is very tall, though smaller than his father had made him out to be.) At the end, Will realizes he made a mistake in not trusting his father, and that he needs to open his mind more and be less cynical; finally, he manages to come to terms with his father's need to live an extraordinary life. In the final moments of his father's life, Will concocts a wild story that sends his father Edward to the river, where he turns into a fish.
The ending of the movie is bittersweet in the sense that before Edward Bloom passed away, his son managed to forgive his father for all his deception. However, the ending proves that without a doubt his father's stories were indeed based on true events, although exaggerated (e.g., the Siamese twins were actually twins but each had their own body; the giant was a tall man; etc.)
[edit] Cast
- Ewan McGregor - young Edward Bloom
- Albert Finney - older Edward Bloom
- Billy Crudup - Will Bloom
- Jessica Lange - older Sandra Bloom
- Helena Bonham Carter - younger & older Jenny / The Witch
- Alison Lohman - young Sandra Bloom
- Robert Guillaume - Dr. Bennett
- Marion Cotillard - Joséphine
- Matthew McGrory - Karl the Giant
- David Denman - Don Price (Age 18-22)
- Missi Pyle - Mildred
- Loudon Wainwright III - Beamen
- Ada Tai - Ping
- Arlene Tai - Jing
- Steve Buscemi - Norther Winslow
- Danny DeVito - Amos Calloway
- Perry Waltson - Ed Bloom (Age 10)
- Hailey Anne Nelson - Jenny (Age 8)
- Miley Cyrus- Ruthie (Age 8)
[edit] External links
Director: The Island of Doctor Agor • Stalk of the Celery • Vincent • Frankenweenie • Pee-wee's Big Adventure • Beetlejuice • Batman • Edward Scissorhands • Batman Returns • Ed Wood • Mars Attacks! • Sleepy Hollow • Planet of the Apes • Big Fish • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory • Corpse Bride • Sweeney Todd
Producer: The Nightmare Before Christmas • James and the Giant Peach • Batman Forever • 9
