True art of deception
BIG EYES (DVD: Ster-Kinekor) Rating: ★★★★✩
Margaret’s artworks start catching on with the public; certainly more so than Walter’s street scenes of Paris.
Walter starts taking credit for her work, initially justifying this to her by explaining that he’s better known in the city’s art circuit. But once the deception is fixed, it’s difficult to backpedal out of it.
Soon Margaret’s work is worldrenowned, and the family lead a life of opulence. But Margaret has to lock herself away in the studio, churning out the work that Walter will claim as his own. She doesn’t even allow her daughter into the secret, such is Walter’s paranoia about being exposed.
Tim Burton’s more recent films (such as Sweeney Todd and Alice in Wonderland) have been a let-down to me in that they’ve opened dark and stayed dark. No light-and-shade.
This film has a fairy-tale quality (Burton’s strong suit), and it opens with hope and cheer: sunny blue skies and bright, saturated hues. It’s only as the tale progresses and Burton peels back the layers of Walter’s narcissistic, sociopathic psyche that the film darkens narratively and visually.
Adams is quite superb as the woman who hides her light under the proverbial bushel, as is Waltz, who starts off as a whirlwind of charm, but gradually reveals his less desirable traits.
If this weren’t a true story, it would be hard to swallow, but I suppose its astonishing nature is what made it worth pursuing as a film – one that took 11 years of wrangling and negotiation to bring to fruition. Well worth it, I’d declare. IF WE may push aside modesty for a moment, allow me to assert that the biggest entertainment happening this weekend is our competition, on page 4, that offers two lucky winners the full Blu-ray set of every Pixar feature to date (except, obviously, Inside Out, which is showing on the big screen). That aside, disaster movie fans will be able to join Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in his adventure across an earthquakeravaged Los Angeles. This week’s featured Movie on Disc, Big Eyes, is another example (after Frankenweenie) that Tim Burton’s career is on the upswing, after his dull output of the latter half of the previous decade. Oenophiles can visit Georgina Crouth in the eating-and-drinking department, while car fans may want to inspect the latest offerings on wheels. Just don’t mix the two… Hopefully you’ll manage to negotiate your entertainment options between all the power cuts. This, I suppose, is where I insert the “unhappy smiley” :-( But we soldier on, in search of the ultimate entertainment high. Be strong!
Tat Wolfen 48HoursEd@inl.co.za @Wolfmantat