Essay – Big Fish
Big Fish M Krause 02/27/13 Production: Columbia Pictures, 2003 Producer: Bruce Cohen/Dan Jinks Director: Tim Burton Screenplay: Daniel Wallace (novel), John August (screenplay) Cinematography: Philippe Rousselot Editing: Chris Lebenzon Music: Danny Elfman Principal Characters: Ewan McGregor Ed Bloom (Young) Albert FinneyEd Bloom (Senior) Billy CrudupWill Bloom Jessica Lange Sandra Bloom (Senior) Helena Bonham CarterJenny (Young)/Jenny (Senior)/The Witch Alison LohmanSandra Bloom (Young) Robert GuillaumeDr. Bennett (Senior) Marion CotillardJosephine Bloom Matthew McGregoryKarl the Giant David DenmanDon Price (Age 18-22) Missi Pyle Mildred
Loudon Wainwright IIIBeaman Typical of Tim Burton films, Big Fish is full of interesting elements of fantasy, exaggerated reality, and other time periods or worlds. Most interesting is how Tim Burton seems to always use such separate elements and weave them into films with great continuity, the same is true for Big Fish. Through creative use of narrative advancement, period costuming, and two complete casts of characters (one playing the younger versions and one playing the older versions of people) Burton is able to tell the story of Ed Bloom and his crazy life which is chock full of tall tales and interesting people he met along the way.
While there was no shortage of bright colors and oddball characters typical of Burton-esque mise en scene (Danny Devito as a werewolf for example), there was more of a story to Big Fish than found in other films by this director. In an article from 2004 critiquing what was at the time the newest in the Tim Burton library of films, author Beth Deters stated “With Big Fish, curiously enough, the opposite holds true — story prevails over images. The narrative proves far richer than the visual style that depicts it. ” (Beth Deters, Worldpress).
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Honestly, viewing the film twice might not be enough to understand every element and catch every thread of symbolism in this film, the good thing is that Big Fish is entertaining enough to watch multiple times, especially if you are a fan of Tim Burton. The screenplay is effective even with all of the jumping around from present day to the past and is only enhanced by spectacular editing and symbolism. Even with the fantasy elements and symbolism intertwined, the story has a great relaxed flow to it, one reviewer stated “Since this is a film about tall tales, the structure is quite different from Burton’s other work.
You never know when or where the story is going to go next, which is part of the film’s charm. ”(Arran McDermott, www. timburtoncollective. com) The main protagonist of the film is of course Edward Bloom. He is, in a way, constantly trying to entertain everyone around him with his tall tales and means no harm to anyone in doing so, however through his storytelling, he unintentionally drives a wedge between himself and his son. Edward is also by far the roundest character of the film.
Even though his whole life, it seems Edward Bloom has done many acts of kindness for strangers and friends alike, his own son cannot appreciate him the way he should. Throughout this film, we see much character development for young and old Edward Bloom – from a young man who becomes the hero of his town to a family man and finally to his deathbed and beyond. We understand his view of the world through watching his struggles and experiences along the way. Edward Bloom literally is Big Fish. There is no real defined antagonist in Big Fish, however, society/expectations/external forces could all be antagonists in this film.
For example, after Sandra and Edward finally get together as a couple, Edward is shipped off to the war and has to fight his way back to his love along with the help of two very colorful, Asian Siamese twins all the while Sandra thinking he is dead. He needs to overcome that obstacle to make it back to Sandra and continue along in his life. Even before that after he sees Sandra for the first time, Edward is forced go to work for Amos Calloway in the circus in order to even find out more about his love and how to contact her, this is another antagonist in his way. The foil in this movie is Edward Bloom’s son Will.
He is judgmental against his father, yet in the end turns out to be the most like him in the whole movie. Throughout much of the film, Will dislikes and purposely doesn’t tell stories in a rebellious act toward his father (it seems). Even Edward himself says to Will’s wife that it was good that Will had never shared with her the story of how he met Will’s mother because “He would have told it wrong anyway, all of the facts and none of the flavor”(Edward Bloom, film). Will’s dry, serious character provides a stark contrast to Edwards colorful one and his fantastical stories.
The most telling fact about these two is that Will turns out to be a writer, albeit at first a reporter, but a writer nonetheless. This is also the underlying principal conflict in the film, father vs. son, fantasy vs. reality and it is only resolved by the character of Will doing some digging about the stories to understand his father better and discovering the threads of reality interwoven into the fantasy stories he has been told since he was a child. He never appreciated his father until he was almost gone and by the time he realizes his mistake it is almost too late.
To the contrary, an example of a confidant and a fairly static character (besides becoming pregnant in the course of the movie) is Josephine Bloom. She, unlike her husband, enjoys the stories that Edward tells and believes there is more truth to them than her husband is giving them credit for. The town of Spectre is an example of foreshadowing in the film Big Fish. When Bloom first comes across Spectre, it is a town which is almost ethereal (read Heaven-like), there are no roads just soft grass and no one wears shoes. It is then described that he arrived at this town “too early”.
The next time we see Spectre, it has become gloomy and dark and is falling apart. Edward takes it upon himself to buy up the town and “fix it”. The contrast between Spectre’s downfall and Bloom’s bad health represents how one would right themselves religiously to prepare for heaven and foreshadows the idea that Edward passes on by the end of the film. It is also stated in the film that after Edward left Spectre, he never returns and “the story ends where it began”(Jenny-Senior, film). Additionally, Spectre is described as “feeling so strange, but so familiar” which is what could be interpreted by the mainstream what Heaven is believed o like. There are two mise en scenes in this movie, there is one in the present day which is typical of any generic film with present day clothing and normal camera tones and backdrops. There is also the mise en scene of the fantasy world which seems to be filmed using a brighter, overexposed film to show the difference. The clothing being worn by the characters in the fantasy world are brighter, the characters themselves are stranger, and the backdrops of a different time period. There is a stark contrast between the two and that plays into part of the story.
The two are only tied together in the end during the funeral scene when Karl the giant, the Siamese twins and various other characters from Edwards past come to pay their respects. One scene in particular has a great deal of symbolism, both implied and spoken, it is also one of the most beautiful of the film. When Josephine and a senior Edward are speaking of the first time Edward sees his love, he describes time standing still – in this moment in the film, Edward is at the circus and spots Sandra from across the room. Everything freezes (literally) just as is being described) the scene shows everything stop…except Edward Bloom.
He then moves toward his love, even pushing popcorn which is stopped in mid-air and literally walking through (read jumping through) hoops to reach his love. And then just as he is about to reach her, time starts up again and moves even faster (again just as he is describing), and she disappears. The symbolism of Edward stepping through the hula hoop to be interpreted as “jumping through hoops” is so important and beautiful. The literal interpretation was so amazing and unexpected, the viewer could see literally what falling in love was like.
The music is particularly effective in this movie, almost in an expected way. Too much music could have been overpowering, but there was just enough and timed correctly throughout the film. From Buddy Holly in the middle of the film when Edward is going to find his love, to traditional “end of the movie” music, to the ending credits with Pearl Jam (a soundtrack can’t get more poignant than Pearl Jam). The soundtrack really added another dimension to the film and increased its likeability and made it easier for the viewer to relate.
The editing in this movie was spot-on and it had to be with all of the back and forth between two worlds and two sets of characters. The movie seamlessly weaves together both the stories and provide a flowing, continuous story which keeps the viewer entertained from the first scene describing “The Beast” (film). The pacing has a smooth, even keel to it – Burton somehow manages to keep the viewer at the edge of their seat, sometimes literally leaning forward in anticipation, while still keeping a calm feel throughout the entire film.
The pacing of the film literally charms the viewer into accepting the images on the screen. The transitions in this film are especially magical, starting with something reality based and moving to a fantasy element, repeat. Each perfectly timed and taking the viewer back in time tell one of Edwards fantastical stories, one more magical than the last until the grand finale where the transition isn’t even anticipated because the son takes over the storytelling (Will).
Another aspect, the cinematography, is flawless and best described in this quote “Director Tim Burton uses cinematography to create a believable fantasy world. With bright colors and flawless shots, viewers feel as if they are in a dream. This other worldly feel helps viewers imagine that the events could actually be true. ”(www. bookrags. com[->0]) . Big Fish transports the viewer to Edward Bloom’s imagination and makes even the craziest ideas seem tangible such as escaping from the war with Siamese twins or saving a town by befriending a giant.
What a fabulous film to view as a final selection. Visually beautiful, emotionally moving, and thought-provoking. Works Cited Big Fish. Tim Burton. Columbia Pictures. 2003. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Big_Fish http://jordanfogerson. wordpress. com/2012/02/28/tim-burton-narrative-structure/ http://yaledailynews. com/weekend/2004/01/16/tim-burton-doesnt-quite-reel-in-a-big-fish/ http://www. bookrags. com/films/bigfish2003/styleandcinematography. html http://www. timburtoncollective. com/bigfish. html http://www. imdb. com/title/tt0319061/? ref_=fn_al_tt_1 [->0] - http://www. bookrags. com
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