Title: Big Fish (2004)Starring: Albert Finney, Ewan McGregor, Billy Crudup
Directed By: Tim Burton
Lately Tim Burton has been doing a LOT of adaptations (Sleepy Hollow, Sweeney Todd, Alice in Wonderland, etc.)! This film is no exception. It's an adaptation of a novel that borrows from adaptations. The Daniel Wallace novel, Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions was released in 1998 and makes allusions to Homer's Odyssey, James Joyce's Ulysses and a number of popular tall tales. The film version, which Burton made between Planet of the Apes and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory does its best to draw from similar inspirations. You'll notice bits and pieces from The Wizard of Oz among other fantasy classics.
Honestly, all of that is EXACTLY what I found wrong with this movie. It's good, don't get me wrong. It's pretty much as good as you'd expect given the cast, director and source material. The only real thing working against it is that no matter how fantastical the flashbacks become and no matter how well the cast performs their parts, it always feels so familiar. By no means should that discourage you from giving this a look, just understand going in that you've kinda seen this before.
Score: 7/10
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