Making A Huge Splash

Rating: 9/10 (12 December 2003)

'Tim Burton is back,' I thought, already when I saw the Big Fish trailer. He's returned from the smelly and louse-ridden Planet Of The Apes. Sell out your talent in such a manner - the shame! Again, I glimpsed hope of soaking up the imagery only his brain could present on a good day and inhaled deeply as I sat down to witness... a minor masterpiece.
William Bloom (Crudup) goes off to visit his terminally ill father, Edward (Finney), hoping to get to know him before it's too late. The father's colorful, unlikely stories about his youth collides with the son's views on 'real life,' and the film weaves these contrasts together and blurs boundaries between the two until the greater picture is revealed: There are more important things in life than truth.
Never before have I seen Tim Burton's imagination this well integrated in a story. Every piece of fairy tale has a ring of true drama and recognizable elements from life, and hits you straight in the heart. Big Fish is a grand film about fathers and sons, about generations and legacies, about growing up as a human being and about good stories. A lovely, heartwarming present to all the storytellers out there and us who love to listen.
9/10