Big Fish
Reviewed by Pam & George O. Singleton for Reel Movie Critic
HHH
Cast
Ewan McGregor	Young Edward Bloom
Albert Finney	Old Edward Bloom
Billy Crudup	William Bloom
Jessica Lange	Sandy Bloom
Directed by Tim Burton. Lyrical drama. Rated PG-13 for a fight scene, some images of nudity and a suggestive reference. Sony Pictures.

A reticent son returns to his small hometown from his life in Paris, with his pregnant wife, when he learns from his mother that his father, whom he's not spoken to in three years, is going to stop his chemotherapy treatments. Four actors play the three key characters in "Big Fish," a family tale of mythic proportions. Ewan McGregor ("Moulin Rouge") is the Young Edward Bloom and Albert Finney portrays the older Bloom on his deathbed. Edward's son, William, is played by Billy Crudup ("Almost Famous") and two-time Oscar winner Jessica Lange is Edward's loving wife, Sandy.

When William was a youngster, his father was away from home most of time, performing his traveling salesman job. When he was at home he performed a type of magic with a turn of a phrase, telling tall tales of his adventures on the road. There were the gorgeous, treacherous twins, described as Siamese, with one body and two heads, who were suspected spies; and the cave dwelling giant, whom Edward befriended. These were wonderful fantasies for a young child but as William grew older, he wished for more reality in the unfolding of his father's life ¾ especially now, at the end of things.

Based upon a folksy, lyrical novel of the same name, "Big Fish" is a family picture that warms the heart and shakes up the senses as only director Tim Burton ("Sleepy Hollow," "Ed Wood" and "Beetlejuice") can do. Both father and son are storytellers. Edward shares his tales in a colorful, oral tradition and his son writes in a straightforward narrative style. Sandy holds the family together, even though they are apart; she keeps her husband and son updated on each other's lives without them speaking to each other.

If you are familiar with the work of director Tim Burton and legendary producer Richard D. Zanuck ("The Sting," "The Eiger Sanction," "Jaws," "Cocoon," "Driving Miss Daisy," "Deep Impact," "True Crime," "Rules of Engagement," and "Road to Perdition") it's a small leap to understand how this unique film came to be.

The language in the film is poetic and does not fall into cliché. Edward says things like "the biggest fish in the river gets that way by never getting caught," and "time stops when you meet the love of your life." He would never tell a story in a strict, unembellished, chronological narrative, which he describes as boring. George's father once told him, when he complained about not making enough money at his job at IBM after a good year, to look over his shoulder and be mindful of just how well he was doing. The message there is that while you may want and deserve more, be thankful for what you have. Pam's father, a Pearl Harbor survivor, had the class to not complain that we bought a Toyota in 1968 and the grace to quietly comment at the appropriate time that he would not be buying any TV's or automobiles from Japan anytime soon. We'll never know what it was to be there in 1941, before we were born, but he was never able to forget, nor should he. He was not bitter against the Japanese people but that experience impacts one in ways only that person can understand. If you are not learning something everyday about the world and the human condition, you are moving in the wrong direction.

The cinematography sparkles with life, in all its folly, as you are reminded of people in your own family and perhaps what you might say or do while you have the opportunity. Edward Bloom always wanted to be a big fish in a big river. Since he was not able to make that a reality, he decided to make himself a big fish in a small pond, his own family.