What a Lovely, Strange Film....

Rating: 8/10 (6 April 2012)

Tim Burton always produces remarkable motion pictures, whether they're ultimately that good, or not. With 'Big Fish', with its fluorescent colours and lovable weirdness, some critics have dared say that it's not very good.
A few of the parts on their own are a little iffy but it's the huge scale of extraordinariness that verges into Terry Gilliam's territory and the way they unfold that literally takes one's breath away. In the best Tim Burton way, the surprising turn into something even more surprising, letting our imagination run riot. He doesn't even seem to rely on CGI - just look at all those individual daffodil flowers and that bright green lawn, where you think you can see where the turf has been stitched together.
Those of us used to Ewan MacGregor being in Trainspotting, might find it difficult to adjust to this naive and often seemingly rather simple fellow with his quite strong American drawl of an accent. Having Albert Finney play him in later life seems more natural somehow as he seems like an eccentric granddad, telling us all these very tall stories. Helena Bonham Carter is cast to type as a sort of modern witch and possible love interest for MacGregor and is as good as she always.
The in's and out's of the story are too complex to write with any brevity and in any case are best left for the viewer to experience as they let the film unfold. The way I saw 'Big Fish' was as a fairytale for adults, with adult-ish themes plus all the wacky weirdness of Tim Burton.