A winning whopper

Rating: Null/10 (22 December 2003)

BIG FISH (2003) **1/2 Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Alison Lohman, Helena Bonham Carter, Danny De Vito, Robert Guillaume, Steve Buscemi, Matthew McGrory, Loudon Wainwright III, Missi Pyle, Marion Cotillard, Ada Tai, Arlene Tai. Engaging yet meandering bit of tall-tale telling envisioned by Tim Burton's adaptation of Daniel Wallace's novel (screenplay by John August does it's best to get the whimsy balanced with poignancy) about an estranged son and father (Crudup and the always watchable Finney) who try to re-unite before it's too late  the dad is dying  despite the non-stop whoppers told over the years that blend fictional fantasy into fact.
Embued by a fantastic ensemble (McGregor uncannily channeling Finney from his heyday in the flashback narrative and Lohman becoming Lane) and a unique production design by Dennis Gasner creating a parallel universe of sorts only shows the weakness of the long-windedness of the narrative that at times creaks along in its gradual pacing which hinders the heart of an otherwise exceptional  and this time very personal  take by Burton.