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Should this Big Fish be tossed back?

Over the past few weeks (here and here), Film Forum featured early reviews of Tim Burton's new film Big Fish. This week, more reviews came in, reflecting an ongoing division over the value of the film's story. Many critics praise its story of fathers and sons. Others are offended by the film's father figure, saying that Edward Bloom is celebrated and honored for being self-absorbed and insensitive.

Steven D. Greydanus (Decent Films) says, "Ultimately, I don't buy this Big Fish story. Though we're meant to be charmed by the whimsy and spirit of Bloom's imagination, looking past the glossy whimsy and wacky Burtonesque imagery, I can't help regarding Bloom as a man who lives so much in his own inner world that he's unwilling or unable to engage people who are unwilling or unable to join him there. The apparent implication is that Will [comes to believe] that there was nothing wrong with his father's stories, even though they led to an estrangement that wasn't resolved until his father lay on his deathbed."

Frederica Mathewes-Green (Our Sunday Visitor) is also troubled by the film's glorification of a self-absorbed storyteller. "Imagination can provide a springboard to faith or into an empty pond. Big Fish recommends tale-spinning as a satisfying end in itself, precluding the need for spirituality or any further dimension to life. You're not even required to have honest, humble relations with those you supposedly love."

In my own review, I ask why more viewers aren't sympathizing with Bloom's rival, who never gets a shot at enjoying anything in life without Bloom taking the chance away from him.

But Steven Isaac (Plugged In) has a different perspective. "Big Fish [is] about coming to terms with a life that sometimes feels dull. It's about family bonds. Losses. Secrets that shouldn't be so secret. And the great value real has. Fanciful, funny and sweet on marriage and family, this Fish only has a few sharp bones to note, even after it's been filleted and dissected."

Matt Ingle (Relevant) shares excerpts from interviews with John August, the film's writer, and its producers—Dan Jinks, Bruce Cohen, and Richard D. Zanuck. Ingle concludes that Bloom is portrayed as "an endlessly talented man, madly in love with his wife and son, with a zest to find reason in everything life throws his way."

More on Monster ; a rave for Radioand To End All Wars

Last week, Film Forum summed up critical responses to Monster.

This week, Dick Staub (Culture Watch) considers the way the film's portrayal of Aileen Wuornos misinforms viewers about her mental state. "The omission of Aileen's mental illness means Monster's story itself does not deserve a good or great because the story has been edited in a way that reduces (or at least leaves vague) the perception that Aileen is insane. How can we draw life lessons, how can we evaluate her condition or understand the factors that contributed to her contorted morality without coming to grips with her true condition?"

My own review of the film is at Looking Closer.

Film critic Megan Basham (RazorMouth) turned in her list of ten favorite films for 2003 this week. She includes Radio on the list, saying, "Don't listen to the negative hyperbole. The fact that most critics found this film too inspirational to be true is a sad commentary on their own lives."

(Actually, critics were not saying the film was "too inspirational." They were saying it was "contrived" and "schmaltzy." Click here to scan their reviews, or here to read through my own take on the movie.)

Basham concludes that the best film of the year was the rarely seen To End All Wars. "Not since Chariots of Fire has a Christian story been told so powerfully for a secular audience. If Christian audiences don't support this movie when it becomes available on video/DVD more than we did when it was in the theaters, we have no one but ourselves to blame when the world associates us with embarrassments like Left Behind and The Omega Code."

Next week: Along Came Polly and Torque.

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January (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48