Typical Burton Genius at work!

Rating: 8/10 (26 March 2012)

Big Fish was a rocking awesome movie! What I love about Tim Burton's work is the visual element. I say to people all the time that half the time, I just throw in a Burton DVD and hit the mute button, looking at his films like art instead of movies. I have never felt that he was a particularly engaging storyteller, feeling instead that his movies all relied so heavily on the visual that it was a lot like eating too much candy...afterwards, you're still hungry and kind of queasy. This movie suffers from a bit of the same problem. The visuals are more whimsical than we're used to, more naturalistic but the overall sense of imagination that makes me gasp from Burton normally isn't present throughout. There are moments of inspiration--the popcorn, the daffodils--but overall, I get the impression that he is just trying too hard.
The performances are sublime, with especial kudos to Ewan MacGregor. This man is simply celestially talented. He lights up the screen like a supernova. Jessica Lange is wasted, and Alison Lohman is so eerily her spitting image that I think she must have been cloned. Albert Finney is terrific, Steve Buscemi and Danny DeVito seem to be having the time of their lives, and even the mostly wooden Billy Crudup acquits himself well at the end.