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BIG FISH
By Rachel Deahl
Review Film Critic

Click for the Official Site

Fantastic and surreal are two words that best describe the unique brand of
films director Tim Burton is known for making. Dark, elaborate sets have
dominated the director's finest work in films like "Batman," "Edward
Scissorhands" and his claymation masterpiece, "The Nightmare Before
Christmas."

To a certain extent setting has always been more integral to Burton's
singular brand of filmmaking than the characters themselves. But in "Big
Fish," Burton's usual formula misses its mark. Delivering another quirky
view of life, Burton's latest film lacks the dark, ironic bite that has
distinguished his best work to date.

Set in a mythologized South, complete with enormous catfish, giants,
friendly werewolves and a set of conjoined female performers named Ping and
Jing, "Big Fish" sounds like exactly the kind of project Tim Burton was
born to direct. And, in some ways, it is. Unfortunately, Burton's knack for
the bizarre is hindered here by a story that has already done most of the
legwork for him.

Based on the novel by Daniel Wallace, "Big Fish" is a hokey tale about the
importance of familial bonds and the magical power of storytelling.

Billy Crudup stars as Will Bloom, an ornery young journalist who's grown
cynical after spending his formative years listening to his father's tall
tales. Driven away by the old man's inability to simply be honest (and his
dad's constant need to upstage him), Will regards his father as a failure
and general pain in the ass. But when his dad (played by Albert Finney)
falls ill, Will heads home to nail down the "real" story of his father's
life.

Dipping back and forth between the present and the past (with Ewan McGregor
sanding in for the young Edward Bloom), "Big Fish" recasts the adventures
of Edward's life in the dippy, surreal realm of his imagination. As Will
tries to unearth the facts, Edward keeps pressing on with fantastic tales
of love, war and adventure, tales which only induce more anger and
frustration in a son looking for the truth.

In some ways, "Big Fish" doesn't recall Burton's other films as much as it
does the Rob Reiner fairy tale, "The Princess Bride." Like Reiner's
inventive and irresistible take on the joys of chivalry and childhood
imagination, "Big Fish" is grounded in the simple wonderment of make
believe.

Although Burton does well depicting the silly yarns about little boys who
see their death in the glass eye of a local witch and rain storms so severe
they send Buicks into trees, the repeated feats of Edward Bloom become
repetitive after awhile.

Ultimately, "Big Fish" is unable to show any restraint with its subtler
tale about a son coming to terms with his father. Repeatedly beating home
the idea that Will need only embrace the storyteller within himself to
truly see his dad for the wonderful man he is, "Big Fish" oversimplifies

the role of fiction in our lives and the relationship of its central
Blooms.

In the end, "Big Fish" leaves us with a series of wacky adventures about
the invention that is Edward Bloom. Somehow though, the stories don't
amount to much and you can't help but agree with the initial complaint of
Crudup's son, who's looking for more.
Of course, in a film that conveniently refuses to draw a line between the
realm of imagination and the real world, the fallible qualities that make
us all human need never be a part of the story.

GRADE: B

HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG

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It seems odd and totally unlikely that something so dull as real estate
could inspire the heartbreaking tragedy that's so beautifully rendered in
"The House of Sand and Fog."

Based on the novel of the same name by Andre Dubus III, first-time director
Vadim Perelman brings this somber tale to the screen with subtlety and
grace, drawing two excellent performances from his lead characters and
ultimately reminding us how rare and rewarding it can be to see tragically
human characters depicted in a medium which is so often focused on those
larger than life.

Reminiscent of Todd Field's slow and devastating tale of revenge in a small
New England town, "In the Bedroom," "House" presents us with a similarly
debilitating story about the way good people are pulled into doing bad
things.

Field, who based his 2001 film on a short story by Andre Dubus (the father

of Andre Dubus III), was able to strike many of the chords that Perelman
does here. With their methodical pacing, beautiful cinematography and
tour-de-force performances, both films demonstrate a wonderful ear for the
rhythms of life and the untold tales of people whose existences are, more
often than not, forgettable.

But where "In the Bedroom" dealt with the complex particulars of class in
rural American towns, "The House of Sand and Fog" touches on the clash of
cultures and the ever-evolving immigrant experience in American cities.

Set in a San Francisco suburb, the film revolves around the ownership of a
small house overlooking the Bay. Originally owned by Kathy (Jennifer
Connelly), a down-on-her luck recovering alcoholic who can't seem to get
her life on track, the house goes up for auction when the IRS comes to
collect on unpaid taxes for the paltry amount of $500. When the house goes
up for sale a former Iranian general, Amir Behrani (Ben Kingsley), sees the
sale as a rare opportunity to change his family's fortunes.

Behrani, who has spent most of his family's savings on an elaborate wedding
for his eldest daughter, is secretly working minimum wage jobs to pay the
bills. Renting an apartment well beyond their means, he announces to his
wife and teenage son that they will be moving to a new house which he has
bought for considerably less than it is worth.

When Kathy learns that her one worldly possession has been sold and that
the house her father gave her is now gone, she begins to unravel. At the
urging of her new cop boyfriend, Lester (Ron Eldard) who takes a liking to
her when he shows up to evict her, Kathy begins an innocent campaign to
convince the new tenants to leave.

When Lester finally decides to intimidate the new owners into leaving,
using his police status to his advantage, the tenuous struggle sparks a
tragic chain of events.
Aside from the stunning turns from both Connelly and Kingsley and the
beautiful cinematography that brilliantly draws the foggy environs into the
story, "House of Sand and Fog" is that most wonderful of things: a classic
tragedy in which no one is to blame because everyone is at fault.

Expertly executed and beautifully shot, "House" is a fitting and bitter nod
to the underbelly of the American dream as we begin 2004.

GRADE: A

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