Director Tim Burton (Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street) has done a movie based on a true story once before, that was the fantastic Ed Wood, so I was interested to see another one. Basically in 1958, Margaret Ulbrich (Golden Globe winning, and BAFTA nominated Amy Adams) is supporting her daughter Jane (Delaney Raye) alone in North Beach, San Francisco, after leaving her husband, she gets a job at a factory, painting illustrations onto furniture. At an outdoor art show, while painting portraits, Margaret meets Walter Keane (Golden Globe nominated Christoph Waltz), who is selling his Parisian street scene painting, Walter later proposes to her and they marry. Walter goes to a popular jazz club and convinces the owner, Enrico Banducci (Jon Polito), to let him rent a wall to display the couple's paintings on. A drunk woman is touched by one of Margaret's paintings and buys it, Walter has a fight with Banducci and ends up on the front page of the local newspaper, the club is next packed with curious people. Celebrity gossip columnist Dick Nolan (Danny Huston, also the narrator) wants to know about Walter's art, but is only interested in Margaret's paintings, especially those of subjects with big eyes. Walter shows Margaret all the money they have made from sales, he tells her they make a great team, saying she can stay home painting and he will sell her works. Walter opens his own Keane gallery, promoting the art as his own, selling reproductions, but Margaret is upset he is taking credit for her art, and feels guilty lying to Jane about it. Margaret decides to paint in a different style with elongated features and small eyes, so that she can honestly tell people she is also a painter. Margaret and Walter move into a new mansion together, while going through a crate containing stacks of Parisian street scenes, but she they are signed by another name, she realises Walter paints over the original artist's names and claims them as his own. Margaret confronts Walter about her discovery, he tells her he always wanted to be an artist, but never had the talent. Walter learns of the New York World's Fair and demands Margaret paint something to put on display, when she refuses he threatens to kill her. Older Jane (Madeleine Arthur) discovers her mother working on the large artwork, she tells her mother that she always knew she was the true artist. At a party, Walter is angered after reading the scathing review of the exhibit by John Canaday (Terence Stamp), back at home he drunkenly throws lit matches at Margaret and Jane, they manage to get out after he almost sets the house on fire, they run away. A year later, Margaret and Jane have settled in Honolulu, Hawaii, but Walter tracks her down, he refuses to agree a divorce unless she signs over the rights to every painting and produces 100 more. Margaret agrees and continues sending paintings to California, but then following a visit from two Jehovah's Witnesses, she is convinced that honesty is important, so the next delivery, Walter receives paintings signed "MDH Keane". On a Hawaiian radio show, Margaret reveals she is the real artist behind the big eyes paintings attributed to Walter, this makes national news, Nolan writes an article claiming she has "gone nuts". Margaret sues both Walter and the newspapers that printed his version of the story for libel and slander, the case is taken to a courthouse in Honolulu, with reporters swarming. The Judge (James Saito) immediately dismisses the libel lawsuit against the newspapers, but Walter is left to defend himself against slander, even cross-examining himself as a "witness". As Walter is wasting so much time with his tall tales, the judge decides there is only one way to determine who is the true artist of the big eyes works, both Margaret and Walter are given one hour to paint an artwork. Margaret paints steadily, but Walter is hesitant, claiming that an arm injury has made it hard for him to hold a brush, Margaret completes her painting in 53 minutes and wins the lawsuit, outside she tells the press she doesn't care about the money, she just wants credit for her paintings, she is happy finally signing an autograph for her own work. The end credits claim that Walter continued with his claim that he was the true artist, but never painted again, and died bitter and penniless, while Margaret later retired and opened an Art Gallery. Also starring Breaking Bad's Krysten Ritter as Dee-Ann, Jason Schwartzman as Ruben and the real Margaret Keane as Old Lady at Park. Adams gives a great delicate performance as the manipulated but eventually justified painter, Waltz is wonderfully exuberant as the conman husband, Burton directs this with a real flair, and you can recognise his style with the use of bright colours and a cartoonish look, it is a very interesting fact-based story of plagiarism, fraud and female subjugation, you don't have to necessarily be an art lover to appreciate it, a fascinating and worthwhile biographical drama. It was nominated the BAFTA for Best Production Design, and it was nominated the Golden Globe for Best Original Song for the title song by Lana Del Rey. Good!

I've said time and again that Tim Burton's dark quirkiness can be quite grating. But never has he made a movie so sorely missing it than Big Eyes. If you've seen any kind of biopic, you've already seen Big Eyes. Anyone could've made this film. If you didn't tell me who directed it, I would've never guessed Tim Burton. A wonderfully twisted world is waiting to be explored from Margaret Keane's haunting paintings, but that world is never discovered. Amy Adams is always a striking cinematic figure, but Burton doesn't allow her to bring that much life or personality into Margaret Keane. Christoph Waltz is Walter Keane and unfortunately this is his least convincing role. Hard to believe and even harder to watch, Waltz chews up the scenery, but brings no nuance to Walter Keane, other than being manic and insecure. He has captured the silver screen as a cold-blooded Nazi and a cunning bounty hunter, but playing an everyday schnook proves to be too oppressive for Waltz. I wasn't moved or engaged. The opportunity for a feminist revenge tale is hinted at early on, but the film gives up on it halfway through.

I remember learning about this upcoming film from The Nostalgia Critic's scathing review of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. One day, I noticed it was airing on TV and had it recorded to the DVR. Before viewing, I thought it was going to be simply okay - but my expectations were exceeded! It is such a well-made Tim Burton film, especially considering how it's a departure from his usual fantasy stories (albiet some of his own elements are sprinkled here and there, like the hallucination scene). It has a great example on how much it sucked to be a woman in the 1960s (Heck, the very first line in the film say something along these lines) and you really feel for the main character, Margaret Keane - Amy Adams was great as her! I'd never heard of Walter and/or Margaret Keane before this - at least, certainly never seen any of the 'big eyes' paintings - so I found the story to be intriguing and thought-provoking. And I think Lana Del Rey was a good choice for the soundtrack, not just because of the singer's obvious fascination with the era, but displaying the fear and sadness Margaret felt during her life and marriage with Walter.

Tim Burton's work usually sparks a divisive feeling amongst fans, but it's not often I feel so torn about one of his films. On one hand it's an extraordinary story which I'm glad was told on the big screen, but I don't know that Burton was the right man for the job.Margaret Keane is truly one of the most treasured artists of the last century. Her work with the 'Big Eyes' paintings are immensely popular, but it wasn't always her who took the credit. Her husband, Walter Keane, played by Christoph Waltz, claimed to be the artist behind the big eyes for a decade. This secret damaged Margaret's relationship with her daughter and her friends, and it's the basis for Burton's colorful film.The problem is that this film is trying to literally and metaphorically paint too many pictures. The tone is all over the place. It's a biographical film by nature, a comedy or musical according the golden globes, and even a horror film in one stupendously ridiculous scene. Okay, the last two are a far reach for several reasons, but Burton never really manages to nail down exactly how he wishes to tell the story. And that's unfortunate, because it's a fascinating one.With that said, Amy Adams is one of the few bright spots here. Not like that's surprisingly, considering she's been nominated for an Oscar 5 times, but it's worth mentioning. As she has done so many times, balancing strength and vulnerability is one of her finest attributes as an actress, and that's on display here. She's just so dang likable.Perhaps, that's also because Waltz is so far out of place here. It honestly feels like Burton asked him to bring his brilliant portrayal of Hans Landa into a PG-13 biographical drama. I don't know Walter Keane in real life, but I do know when an actor is acting in a completely different movie than the rest of his fellow actors. Whether it was Burton or Waltz's fault, the performance wasn't anything to ride home about.It's unfortunate just how awkward and tonally inconsistent Big Eyes feels, Margaret Keane and her work deserves a better film than this. I'm a huge fan of Burton's work, but this just wasn't the right project for him.+Amy Adams-Tonally all over the place-Waltz is out of control-Does disservice to an incredible story4.8/10