This article contains spoilers for the film 'Big Eyes' by Tim Burton.
We often see the 1950s and 60s as a either a magical, beautiful time or as an era of discrimination and gender bias. This clever, rage-inducing film from Tim Burton somehow shows both sides of the story at the same time.
The story begins with our heroine, artist Margaret Keane, leaving her abusive husband, only to fall right into the arms of another. From the start, Walter Keane is charming and funny, though already the viewer can sense a secret danger hidden beneath him - perhaps due to his failure as an artist.
Margaret paints children with big eyes that dominate the canvas, a style which enchants and fascinates a wide audience in comparison to her husband's scenes of a street in Paris. When Walter discovers the 'Big Eye' paintings are more popular than his, he claims them as his own.
Initially, Margaret does not tolerate this, and the audience believes she will fight back, but we are quickly disappointed as Walter grows more manipulative and dominates the relationship by means of fear and insults. Soon enough, the 'Big Eye' paintings are massively popular and the Keanes have made more money than they could ever need.
At this point, Margaret is completely isolated. She is not allowed to see her friends, she has to lie to her daughter, and stay locked up in her secret studio while her husband takes credit for her work. It comes as a surprise, however, when she finds out Walter did not paint his Paris street scenes at all - he simply claimed credit for them, as he was doing with her.
We watch as she battles with her misery and Walter become more and more unhinged, until one day he snaps at a critic for his harsh comments about the paintings.
This is where the film reaches an emotional climax. Walter locks Margaret and her daughter in the studio and sets it on fire; the two escape with severe emotional scars and flee to Hawaii where they start a new life.
It seems for a moment as though this is the end. Margaret is painting again in a new style, and they cut contact with Walter. However, he finds her again when Margaret files for a divorce, and he demands she send him 100 more 'Big Eye' paintings, all signed in his name.
This is breaking point for Margaret, and she finally speaks out in an interview about how he took credit for her paintings. Walter, of course, denies it, which leads to a court case in which they both have to paint a 'Big Eye' painting.
Of course, Walter fails, and the film ends happily, with Margaret being recognised for her work and finally receiving the credit she was denied for so many years.
I find that this is very much contrasting to the rest of Tim Burton's work. There is, of course, a parallel with the unnerving paintings to the likes of 'The Nightmare Before Christmas', and the mystical soundtrack in some areas reminds me of 'Edward Scissorhands', but the general atmosphere provides a different emotional experience for me.
That is not to say, however, that it is not as good as his other films. The use of colour in particular stood out to me, especially in Margaret's studio - at happier points in the film, the studio was more bathed in light and brighter yellow shades, while it seemed very dark and grey during tense or miserable moments.
The acting was also a very high standard. Christophe Waltz perfectly portrays Walter's diminishing mental state and fits of passion in a sense that can shock the audience, and Amy Adams shows Margaret's conflicting thoughts with the greatest accuracy.
For me, the greatest downfall was the love story at the start. I didn't see Walter as a particularly charming man, or one that Margaret could fall in love with, so it didn't seem accurate that she was willing to marry him so quickly - particularly with trauma from her past relationship, and discouragement from her daughter. In my opinion, Christophe Waltz could have shown Walter as more appealing to begin with, so that the audience is more shocked by his true personality.
Needless to say, this is a film I will be revisiting in the future, and I would encourage you to do the same. It truly brings to light the gender imbalance in the 1950s, and the harm abusive relationships can cause, in a beautifully executed story with a joyous ending.
We often see the 1950s and 60s as a either a magical, beautiful time or as an era of discrimination and gender bias. This clever, rage-inducing film from Tim Burton somehow shows both sides of the story at the same time.
The story begins with our heroine, artist Margaret Keane, leaving her abusive husband, only to fall right into the arms of another. From the start, Walter Keane is charming and funny, though already the viewer can sense a secret danger hidden beneath him - perhaps due to his failure as an artist.
Margaret paints children with big eyes that dominate the canvas, a style which enchants and fascinates a wide audience in comparison to her husband's scenes of a street in Paris. When Walter discovers the 'Big Eye' paintings are more popular than his, he claims them as his own.
Initially, Margaret does not tolerate this, and the audience believes she will fight back, but we are quickly disappointed as Walter grows more manipulative and dominates the relationship by means of fear and insults. Soon enough, the 'Big Eye' paintings are massively popular and the Keanes have made more money than they could ever need.
At this point, Margaret is completely isolated. She is not allowed to see her friends, she has to lie to her daughter, and stay locked up in her secret studio while her husband takes credit for her work. It comes as a surprise, however, when she finds out Walter did not paint his Paris street scenes at all - he simply claimed credit for them, as he was doing with her.
We watch as she battles with her misery and Walter become more and more unhinged, until one day he snaps at a critic for his harsh comments about the paintings.
This is where the film reaches an emotional climax. Walter locks Margaret and her daughter in the studio and sets it on fire; the two escape with severe emotional scars and flee to Hawaii where they start a new life.
It seems for a moment as though this is the end. Margaret is painting again in a new style, and they cut contact with Walter. However, he finds her again when Margaret files for a divorce, and he demands she send him 100 more 'Big Eye' paintings, all signed in his name.
This is breaking point for Margaret, and she finally speaks out in an interview about how he took credit for her paintings. Walter, of course, denies it, which leads to a court case in which they both have to paint a 'Big Eye' painting.
Of course, Walter fails, and the film ends happily, with Margaret being recognised for her work and finally receiving the credit she was denied for so many years.
I find that this is very much contrasting to the rest of Tim Burton's work. There is, of course, a parallel with the unnerving paintings to the likes of 'The Nightmare Before Christmas', and the mystical soundtrack in some areas reminds me of 'Edward Scissorhands', but the general atmosphere provides a different emotional experience for me.
That is not to say, however, that it is not as good as his other films. The use of colour in particular stood out to me, especially in Margaret's studio - at happier points in the film, the studio was more bathed in light and brighter yellow shades, while it seemed very dark and grey during tense or miserable moments.
The acting was also a very high standard. Christophe Waltz perfectly portrays Walter's diminishing mental state and fits of passion in a sense that can shock the audience, and Amy Adams shows Margaret's conflicting thoughts with the greatest accuracy.
For me, the greatest downfall was the love story at the start. I didn't see Walter as a particularly charming man, or one that Margaret could fall in love with, so it didn't seem accurate that she was willing to marry him so quickly - particularly with trauma from her past relationship, and discouragement from her daughter. In my opinion, Christophe Waltz could have shown Walter as more appealing to begin with, so that the audience is more shocked by his true personality.
Needless to say, this is a film I will be revisiting in the future, and I would encourage you to do the same. It truly brings to light the gender imbalance in the 1950s, and the harm abusive relationships can cause, in a beautifully executed story with a joyous ending.
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