24 reviews in 24 hours, let’s start things off with Big Eyes…
What Works: This is a film based on a media frenzy that was a little bit before my time, but it details the outrageous true story behind those paintings of large-eyed children. Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz may be the year’s most unlikely on-screen pairing, but they do manage an offbeat chemistry. Waltz is at his loopiest and it’s hard to imagine the real-life inspiration for this role could be much like him, but his wild energy is fun to watch. And Adams always excels playing naive radiance, but she’s especially good here. Neither actor is doing much different than what they normally do, but director Tim Burton sure is, and this film’s stripped down aesthetic is exactly what he needed. Retreating from his usual excess is weirdly freeing for Burton.
What Doesn’t: I think the decision to open this film on Christmas Day was a bad one, and it’s easy to see why it’s getting lost in the shuffle: it’s not commercial enough to be a big holiday hit nor is it indie-specific enough to be have critics saying “you must see this!” at a time when so many of the year’s best are opening. This is clearly an October release.
What I Would Have Done Differently: Why kick something that most people won’t see anyway? If you get a chance to watch this on HBO or a plane or whatever, you should. It’s hard to imagine anyone really hating it.