Stays with you even after you leave the theater

Rating: 10/10 (30 January 2004)

There are many movies that you watch, enjoy, and then think about for only a short time after leaving the theater. Big Fish is not one of those. This movie stays with you for a long, long time after viewing; and the more you think about it the more you like it.
The basis of the film is that Will Bloom (Billy Crudup) has been told tall tales all his life by his father, Ed Bloom (Albert Finney/Ewan McGregor), that he eventually believes to be fictitious. The result is that the two men do not speak to each other for over three years until Ed is diagnosed with cancer and is on his deathbed. Will Bloom feels that he doesn't know his true father, and he begins to search for his father's true self. As he does so, he realizes that not every story his father has told him is untrue, and the result is that he comes to understand his father more than he dreamed possible.
I can't find any criticism in any main aspects of this film: the plot and characters were well developed, the acting was superb, the sets and costumes were visually breathtaking, the score was subtle yet strong, and the sound/lighting/cinematography/you-name-it was all good as well.

Perhaps what I liked best though was the way that the overall story line was developed. This truly was not like most movies you see these days. The story develops gradually, and the viewer really doesn't have any idea what any of what they are seeing means or why it has significance until the end (and I will say absolutely nothing about the ending since it is, in my opinion, one of Hollywood's finest endings). The last ten or so minutes wrap up the film so nicely that everything makes sense, but the viewer is left to interpret so much on their own... which is a good thing. I haven't been able to stop thinking about everything since I left the theater, and my friends who have seen it and I all have a good time comparing our own perspectives.
If you haven't seen this film already, go see it. It's definitely worth it. You'll come out of the theater having a better understanding of your parents and you'll see a little more fantasy in everyday reality.