Big Fish is and will always be one of my favorite movies, its a gentle, romantic and whimsical film with a wardrobe beyond compare. Alison Lohman stars a Sandra Templeton, Tim Burton casted her because he loved her silent movie-esque looks and felt that she was able to convey a whole range of emotions even when she was just standing still.
Big fish is full of non stop romantic tear jerking moments that could turn any cold heart warm as whiskey. Tim Burton's movies never cease to amaze me, but this adaption of 1998 novel by Daniel Wallace is so full of color and powerful story telling that is incredibly hard for one to look away. From the moment the movie begins you are forced to believe in Edward Bloom, his character is so brilliant that you immediately care about him and really truly want him to succeed.
Big Fish's plot as described by
imbd, "The story revolves around a dying father and his son, who is trying to learn more about his dad by piecing together the stories he has gathered over the years. The son winds up re-creating his father's elusive life in a series of legends and myths inspired by the few facts he knows. Through these tales, the son begins to understand his father's great feats and his great failings."
As senior Edward Bloom begins to tell his stories, we see young Edward Bloom leaving his small home town of Ashton. In Ashton Edward had became a successful sports player but found the town too small for his ambitions. Edward meets a misunderstood giant Karl, and together they set off. Edward takes an abandoned path down a supposedly haunted forest.
Edward discovers the tiny hidden town of Spectre, where he finds the missing poet Norther Winslow (Steve Buscemi) who has settled, a perfect town that no one ever thinks of leaving.
In the town of Spectre everyone is always dressed divine and not a soul is caught with shoes on there feet. Edward still feels he does not want to settle anywhere yet and leaves, but promises to the young girl Jenny that he will return.
One of the key moments in Big Fish, is the circus scene where Edward Bloom lays his eyes on Sandra Timpleton for the first time. Surprisingly, Tim Burton hates the circus and is afraid of clowns.
One of my favorite lines is when elderly Ed Bloom is lying in his bed telling the story of how he met Sandra, “They say when you meet the love of your life, time stops, and that's true. What they don't tell you is that when it starts again, it moves extra fast to catch up.” This quote is said during the suspended popcorn scene."
As time resumes and speeds up to compensate for the time lost, she is gone out of sight. He makes a deal with the circus ringleader Amos (Danny DeVito) to work for the circus day and night without pay to learn who the love of his life is. Every month for three years Bloom is told something new about the girl, though its mostly useless information like her favorite flower and kind of music. One night Edward is surprised to discover Amos is a deadly werewolf, due to Edwards quick thinking and calm disposition he is able to calm him down by playing fetch. In thanks for Edward's kindness, Amos tells him the girl's name is Sandra Templeton and she studies at Auburn University.
Edward makes many attempts to show his love for her, including surprising Sandra with a field full of daffodils which he gathered from five states. Don appears shortly and beats up Edward, who refuses to fight back, having given Sandra his word that he wouldn't hit Don. Disgusted by Don's behavior, Sandra gives up her engagement ring and falls for Edward.
During his recovery in the hospital, Edward is conscripted by the army and sent to Korea. Edwards mission leads him behind enemy lines he soon encounters a beautiful lounge singer, who are actually Siamese twins, together Edward and the twins sneak to America.
Since Edward pretty much ran away from his duty in the army, he is unable to notify anyone on his trip home, the army declares him dead. Sandra is delivered a death notice and has to come to the reality that he is gone. Sandra is shocked when Edward later arrives home alive and well.
At the end of the movie, senior Edward Bloom sists from telling his stories only to prove to his son Will that he was actually telling the truth. Will surprisingly sees many of his father's unusual friends, confirming the truth of many of his fathers tales. As you can see this is a wonderfully amusing movie full of bright and brillant costumes.
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