Big Eyes (2014)

A drama about the awakening of the painter Margaret Keane, her phenomenal success in the 1950s, and the subsequent legal difficulties she had with her husband, who claimed credit for her works in the 1960s.

Director:

Tim Burton

Writers:

Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski

Stars:

Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz, Danny Huston

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Amy Adams	...	Margaret Keane
Christoph Waltz	...	Walter Keane
Danny Huston	...	Dick Nolan
Krysten Ritter	...	DeeAnn
Jason Schwartzman	...	Ruben
Terence Stamp	...	John Canaday
Jon Polito	...	Enrico Banducci
Delaney Raye	...	Young Jane
Madeleine Arthur	...	Older Jane
James Saito	...	Judge
Farryn VanHumbeck	...	Lily
Guido Furlani	...	Dino Olivetti
Elisabetta Fantone	...	Olivetti Girl
Emily Maddison	...	2nd Olivetti Girl (as Emily Bruhn)
Brent Chapman	...	Factory Boss

Storyline

In San Francisco in the 1950s, Margaret was a woman trying to make it on her own after leaving her husband with only her daughter and her paintings. She meets gregarious ladies' man and fellow painter Walter Keane in a park while she was struggling to make an impact with her drawings of children with big eyes. The two quickly become a pair with outgoing Walter selling their paintings and quiet Margaret holed up at home painting even more children with big eyes. But Walter's actually selling her paintings as his own. A clash of financial success and critical failure soon sends Margaret reeling in her life of lies. With Walter still living the high life, Margaret's going to have to try making it on her own again and re-claiming her name and her paintings.

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Plot Keywords:

painting | secret | abusive husband | artist | 1950s | 

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Taglines:

A true story about art and the art of deception.

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and brief strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English Italian French

Release Date:

25 December 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Big Eyes: Sie malte es, Er verkaufte es, und jeder wollte es haben

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$2,610,026 (USA) (2 January 2015)

Gross:

$14,479,776 (USA) (20 March 2015)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Weinstein Company, The, Silverwood Films, Tim Burton Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (ACES)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Amy Adams liked the script when it was offered to her at first, but she originally turned down the role, because the character lacked "a stronger sense of self". However, working on American Hustle (2013) gave Adams a new perspective of the character, and she was won over because she was intrigued by the character's "quiet dignity", while the relationship between the mother and the daughter spoke to her as well.

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Goofs

An early scene shows Margaret and Walter painting a landscape in San Francisco at the beautiful Palace of Fine Arts building. However, in the 1950s the 1915 constructed Palace had not yet been restored and was in a crumbling state of ruins and fenced off and not visible to the public. It wasn't until the late 1960s that the palace was restored to its original beauty.

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Quotes

Walter Keane: Get out of my house! My big house!

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Connections

Featured in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Bill O'Reilly/Krysten Ritter/Jungle (2014)

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Soundtracks

Moanin
Written by Bobby Timmons and Jon Hendricks
Performed by Doug Webb, Chuck Findley, and Francisco Torres

User Reviews

Good but lacks substance for lasting impression

Christoph Waltz steals the show in Big Eyes, Tim Burton's whimsical tale of an artist and a scandal set in the transporting setting of California in the 60's.

The story of Big Eyes is something straight out of the movies, but no, the tale of Margaret Keane and her artistry is based on fact and real life.

Tim Burton's Big Eyes is a dramatic narrative of Margaret Keane, the painter, mother and wife. Having left her husband, with daughter in tow, she seeks a new beginning in California. While there, she hopes to make a living through her art and subsequently meets and marries a man named Walter. Trying to navigate the art world and make a living, her husband claims credit for her artwork which eventually becomes highly profitable. Burton focuses on the awakening of Keane as an artist and to her husband's shortcomings and the legal difficulties in claiming ownership of her work.

Margaret Keane's life is a fascinating and near unbelievable one. And much of Big Eyes' success as a film rests comfortably on that very story. Well, Big Eyes rests on the story of Keane and on Christoph Waltz's immeasurable charm in his performance as Walter Keane.

The sad big eyed children made commercially famous by Keane are uniquely peculiar. Stylistically, it was only right that Tim Burton should direct a film about the painter. It is apparent that Big Eyes is a Burton film; however, Tim Burton subdues his style substantially so that the narrative of this marvelous woman can take center stage. Creatively, this is a refreshing departure for the director.

The Big Eyes movie parallels the artwork of Margaret Keane in an unintentional manner. Margaret Keane was able to look at a person and capture their essence and then put it on canvas with her own twist through large sad eyes. Similarly, Tim Burton takes the core elements of Keane's life and translates it to film with his own fanciful creative liberties. Though everything is in the movie adaptation of Big Eyes, it lacks substance and heart to connect with the audience to have a lasting impression.

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