Big Something

Rating: Null/10 (22 May 2004)

Perhaps this movie should have been titled "Big Meander" because that's what the plot spends it time doing. The acting from the outstanding cast is great. The storyline could have been good, but I'll never know because I couldn't suffer through to the last minute. The movie didn't provide me with any sense of satisfaction, that something about life was being explored or communicated. There are a lot of fantastic story elements: whimsy, personalities (Albert Finney wins), courage, social and personal challenges, etc. And there are a lot of well conveyed pieces of the story. But the plot is ponderous. You don't feel that there is ever going to be a climax or point to the film, it's like a bunch of incomplete short stories jammed - not joined - together.
There was a lot of story material and resources (actors and budget) to work with, but this is not the tightly constructed art, for which director Tim Burton has gained fame - Edward Scissor Hands, Ed Wood, etc. Responsibility for the failure of this film rests in the direction, clearly the cast and crew did a marvelous job.
4/10 for the package