I Never Swam for My Father

Rating: 6/10 (13 August 2010)

"Throughout his life Edward Bloom (Ewan McGregor) has always been a man of big appetites, enormous passions, and tall tales. In his later years, portrayed by five-time 'Best Actor Oscar' nominee Albert Finney, he remains a huge mystery to his son, William (Billy Crudup). Now, to get to know the real man, Will begins piecing together a true picture of his father from flashbacks of his amazing adventures in this marvel of a movie," according to the DVD sleeve description. As you might expect, the presence of Tim Burton and many of his regular crew mean your production values on "Big Fish" are going to be good.
Now, this is supposed to be the story of a son estranged from his father due to the latter filling his son's head with nothing but lies. The father's stories, told in flashbacks, turn out to be vivid exaggerations, like the "fish tale" opening. Well, the "stories" aren't revelatory. And, it all leads to the expected heart-tugging conclusion. More is told when Mr. Crudup tells his wife something interesting but relatively unexplored, "When I was growing up, he was gone more than he was there." So, our storyteller was a nice guy and a loving husband, but only spent a little time with his son - or, was it a lot of time telling tales?
And why?
The disconnections are strange.
We begin with a crystal ball-eyed witch showing our young lad and his friends how they are going to die. One of the other kids dies masturbating to "Playboy" on his toilet; either this story was a father's warning, or it proved sexual urges trump the will to live. We don't see our hero's death, but he does. As he's seen his own death, "Ed" is able to lead an exciting life, encountering a string of circus-like people. The key relationship, that of father and son, gets lost in the past. Only during the final act, do we get to the heart of the story - then, Crudup and Mr. Finney, updating his "Billy Liar" (1960) stage role, begin to sell it.
****** Big Fish (12/10/03) Tim Burton ~ Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange