abstew here. Well, it must be Oscar-movie season because no sooner did we receive a teaser trailer and release date for A Most Violent Year, but mere hours later, the first trailer for the Tim Burton-directed Oscar hopeful Big Eyes popped up as well. Big Eyes is the biopic of kitschy painter Margaret Keane (Amy Adams) and her husband Walter (two-time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz), who falsely claimed to be the paintings' creator. The screenplay from Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski reunites them with Burton (who actually collects Keane paintings) for the first time since the Oscar-winning Ed Wood 20 years ago. But, I know y'all really just wanna know, does the film have what it takes for the quintuple Oscar-less Amy Adams to finally be crowned the winner? Let's examine with the trademarked Yes, No, Maybe So...
Yes
- After a recent string of against type roles (sexy con artist, angry hand job-giving manipulator...) it's kinda refreshing to have the old naïve, innocent Amy Adams back reminding us why we fell in love with her in the first place.
- Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams in a film together isn't necessarily a combo I would've picked, but now that I see it, I kinda like it. She's so warm and sweet and he's so bombastic and abrasive that they seem to play off each other well. I can also totally buy her getting annoyed as she begins to realize what an a-hole he is.
- "Good God - It's a Movement!" I welcome the addition of Jason Schwartzman and his deadpan delivery to any film.
- The rest of the supporting cast is pretty great as well: Danny Huston, Terence Stamp, and it's nice to see TV's Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 star Krysten Ritter again (filling the required Tim Burton-esque role of pale skin, dark-haired beauty).
- The only other time Tim Burton tackled a real-life story we got (arguably) his best film, Ed Wood. If this movie is even close to the quality of that one, we're certainly in for a treat.
- My choice for Hit Me With Your Best Shot (...oh, sorry wrong series):
No
- So, this trailer certainly does cram a whole lot of story in, huh? Covering almost every major beat of the film...and minor details (Did we really need to know she was in San Francisco?) And why does every biopic feel the need to tackle decades of a person's life? Couldn't we just choose a certain time frame and focus the story more?
- Christoph Waltz, why you always gotta be so shady?
- That opening part of her talking to the dog seems unnecessarily silly and unfunny. I hope it's not an indicator of the entire tone of the film.
- Those Keane paintings really creep me out...
Maybe So
- Wait, is that...a Southern accent Adams is trying on? No, I'm honestly asking because I'm not entirely sure. I know some people gave her grief last year about her attempt at a British accent in American Hustle (which I never entirely understood since she's not actually supposed to be British), I just hope the accent work here isn't distracting since Margaret Keane was from Tennessee but spent most of her adult life in California and Hawaii.
- It seemed like with Eyesore in Wonderland and Dark Shadows that people were beginning to grow weary of Burton's signature style, so perhaps this aesthetic change is good. But, talk about throwing the baby out with the bath water, can't we get a little more Burton quirk than those shots of people with big eyes? The film's look is so generic. If I didn't know Burton was the director, I never would've guessed it. Why hire a certain director known for a certain style and then completely abandon it?
- For a film people are resting their Oscar-wishes on for Adams' win, it doesn't seem, well, dynamic enough. (Although lord knows Oscars have been won with less.) Christoph Waltz seems to have the much showier role. Will Adams be able to stand out? And with another "over-due" red-head making her way to the Best Actress party with a baity role, is Adams just gonna join Deborah Kerr, Thelma Ritter, and Glenn Close as a six time loser?
I'm a Maybe So, not entirely sold but still intrigued by the film. But in all actuality a Yes because of Oscar chances and Amy Adams...you know you want to share your thoughts as well. Is Amy getting that Best Actress Oscar for Big Eyes?