Telling stories, storytelling and a very telling story

Rating: 10/10 (12 March 2004)

There are two types of "big fish:" one is the proverbial "one that got away" and the other is the resident of the so-called "small pond." The Big Fish in BIG FISH is both. As played by the larger-than-life Albert Finney, Edward Bloom is a teller of tall tales who maintains his status in the small pond of his life by keeping all who will listen informed about all the ones that got away. Whether he is a habitual liar or merely a rascally old coot is totally up to the listener. You either laugh with him or at him.
To his son, Will (Billy Crudup), Ed is the liar. All the tales he tells have alienated him from his son. Ed insists that his stories are who he is, they tell all there is to know about Ed's vision of the world. But Will thinks the stories exist only to hide who Ed really is from the world.

What one sees as a bridge, the other sees as a wall.
Part of the chip on Will's shoulder is made up of jealousy. Ed's whoppers about his encounters with giants, werewolves, mermaids and the like were first devised by the young Ed (Ewan McGregor) to amuse Will the child. Eventually they became fodder for parties and banquet toasts. Gifts for the child were freely shared with the rest of the world. Will wants a piece of his father to call his own. Ed doesn't have that much more to give.
BIG FISH is about walking the line between lying and embellishing. It is a thin line: a lie is an embellishment you can't accept; an embellishment is a lie you can. These are embellishments that are easy to accept thanks to Tim Burton's eye for the mystical, the bizarre and the just plain crazy. He weaves a colorful tale, and interweaves it with a touching story of a father and son reunion. It is all so beautifully done.
But BIG FISH is also a story about storytelling, be it the after dinner yarn or the multimillion dollar movie. From the latter stand point, it is Tim Burton's personal story -- and the story of all filmmakers. Burton seems to be saying "This is me. This is my life. I am my movies; my movies are me. It's all true, with embellishments."