Big Fish Review

BURTON, Tim. Big Fish. (2003). United States: Columbia Pictures, 126min.

Big Fish is a fantastic, dramatic and funny film, based on a novel by Daniel Wallace, which tells the story about a man called Edward Bloom. This story is narrated by the protagonist himself (Albert Finney), who is dying because of cancer. His son, Will Bloom (interpreted by Billy Crudup), comes back to home to stay by his side after a long time without talking to him because of his habit of telling incredible stories about his life since he was a child. In a last attempt to know his father’s real life, Will asks him to tell the whole truth, but the answer of Edward is that he has never tell him a lie. Angry, he decides not to hear his stories anymore, but his wife is interested in that amazing stories.

The films plays with chronology: we can see the young Edward Bloom living exciting adventures and the elder and dying Edward confined to bed. Among these adventures, I have especially enjoyed the love story between Edward and his wife Sandra Bloom (interpreted by Alison Lohman as the young Sandra and by Jessica Lange as the elder one). He meets her at the circus, but he doesn’t know his name, so the owner of the circus, Amos Calloway (interpreted by Dany DeVito) makes a deal with him: Edward would work for him and in return he would say a thing about her each month. But times passes and Edward don’t know anything relevant about her, until one day when he discovers that Amos is a werewolf and he spares his life, so in appreciation Amos says to Edward how to find the girl of his dreams. Then he goes to his house and declares his love, but Sandra is engaged. However, Edward goes on with his plan of marry her and he seduces her planting daffodils in her garden, her favourite flowers. One day, while Edward and Sandra are together, Sandra’s boyfriend  find them and hits Edward until Sandra says that she will never marry him, so this is the moment when the most beautiful relationship begins.

But, undoubtedly, the most emotional part of the film is the end. Why? Because all that stories, that Will always has hated for being a string of lies, that were as amazing as unbelievable, now they are real as the life itself. In the last moments of Edward life, his son invent the last adventure which says that Edward is healthy, they both leave hospital and drive to the lake where all the characters in his stories are present, bidding him farewell while he gets into the water and he turns into a fish, a Big Fish.

The final goodbye

So, Big Fish is a film which combines fiction with reality, adventures with drama, giants, werewolves, witches and many things which only Tim Burton can create to obtain a flawless result. Originality is one of its best qualities.