Big Fish (film)

Big Fish is a 2003 fantasy drama film, directed by Tim Burton and written by John August. It is loosely based on the novel Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions by Daniel Wallace, and starred Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Alison Lohman, Steve Buscemi, Helena Bonham Carter and Danny DeVito, amongst others.

Will Bloom (Crudup) returns to his family home in Alabama, having spent the past three years not talking to his father Edward (Finney). Dying, Edward recounts his life story in his own unique, exaggerated way, full of fantastic events (portrayed in these flashbacks by McGregor). Will tries to get to know his father and find the truth, discovering that his father did lead an extraordinary life and that his storytelling was his finest achievement.

Following the death of his father, screenwriter John August read a manuscript of the novel Big Fish in 1999, and had Columbia Pictures option the book on his behalf. Steven Spielberg signed on to direct in August 2000, and he had August write two drafts, with Jack Nicholson in mind to play the older Edward Bloom. August worked hard to make the episodic book into a cohesive story, deciding to have several narrators, and then wrote a third draft after Spielberg was becoming distracted with other projects. Producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen first discussed the project with Stephen Daldry, before they sent the third draft to Tim Burton, who signed on in April 2002 to direct.

The film was initially planned to be directed by Steven Spielberg before Burton took on the project, following the death of his own father. The film was mostly shot in Alabama, and had a much less gothic tone than Burton's other films such as Edward Scissorhands and Sleepy Hollow. Critics hailed the film as Burton's masterpiece, and it received four Golden Globe nominations and one Oscar nomination for Danny Elfman's original score.

Plot

Edward Bloom tells his son Will the same tale over the years: on the day Will was born, he was out catching an enormous uncatchable fish with his wedding ring. By the time he tells this at Will's wedding reception, their relationship has become strained, and they do not talk to each other for three years. Will becomes a journalist in Paris. When his father's health starts to fail, Will and his wife Josephine return to Alabama. On the plane, Will recalls his father's tale of how he braved a swamp as a child, and met a witch who showed him his death in her glass eye. With this knowledge, Edward knows there are no odds he cannot face.

Edward still has a knack for tall tales. As he tells it, he spent three years confined to a bed as a child, with his body growing incredibly fast. He became a successful sports player but found the town of Ashton too small for his ambition. Finding a kindred spirit in the misunderstood giant Karl, they set off. Edward takes an abandoned path down a supposedly haunted forest. He discovers the tiny town of Spectre, where the missing poet Norther Winslow has settled with people so friendly that no one who comes ever leaves, and thus they do not even have to wear shoes. Edward still feels he does not want to settle anywhere yet and leaves, but promises to the young girl Jenny that he will return. At the circus Karl signs up with Amos Calloway, and time stops as Edward sees the love of his life. As time speeds up again and he loses her, he promises to work for Amos day and night without pay to learn who she is. Every month for three years he learns something new about her, but mostly useless trivial information about her and never her name or address. Edward discovers Amos is a werewolf, and plays fetch with him, preventing him from killing Edward, and also preventing Amos' attorney from killing Amos while a wolf. In thanks for Edward's kindness, Amos tells him the girl's name is Sandra Templeton and she studies at Auburn University.

Edward learns from Sandra that she is engaged to Don Price, also from Ashton. He makes many attempts to show his love for her, including collecting all of the daffodils (her favorite flowers) from five states. Don appears and beats up Edward. Disgusted, Sandra gives up her engagement ring and falls for Edward, who, having given her his word that he wouldn't hit Don, refuses to fight back. During his recovery in hospital, Edward is conscripted by the army, and goes to Korea. Instead of taking his assigned mission, he instead parachutes into a theater entertaining troops, and convinces conjoined dancers Ping and Jing to help him get back to America, where he will make them stars. The army thinks the missing Edward is dead and they tell Sandra, leaving her in grief, but Edward eventually returns, surprising her. Being legally dead means that his work choices are limited, so he becomes a traveling salesman. Meeting Winslow again, he unwittingly helps him rob a bank, which is already bankrupt. Edward suggests Winslow work on Wall Street, and Winslow later sends Edward $10,000 from his first million as his "career advisor." Edward uses it to buy his family's dream house.

Still unimpressed by his father's stories, Will demands to know the truth. Edward tries to explain that is who he is: a storyteller. While looking through Edward's old office, Will finds a suspicious letter from Spectre. Going there, Will meets an older Jenny. She explains that Spectre eventually went bankrupt, but Edward bought the entire town at an auction and rebuilt the town with financial help from many of his previous acquaintances. She also explains that she loved Edward, but Sandra was the only woman for him.

Coming home, Will discovers his father has had a stroke and is at the hospital. There, Will tells Edward a story of his own: escaping from the hospital, they go to the river where everybody in Edward's life shows up to greet him on his last journey. Will carries his father into the river where he becomes a big fish. Edward then peacefully remarks "The story of my life" before dying. At his funeral, Will sees many of his father's more unusual friends, confirming at least a grain of truth from many of his tales. He sees Amos, Karl, Ping and Jing and Norther Winslow amongst others. When he has his own son, Will passes on his father's stories, remarking that his father became his stories.

Directed by Tim Burton
Produced by Richard D. Zanuck
Written by Daniel Wallace
John August

Tagline: An adventure as big as life itself.

Cast

Ewan McGregor - Ed Bloom - Younger

Albert Finney - Ed Bloom - Older

Billy Crudup - Will Bloom

Jessica Lange - Sandra Bloom - Older

Helena Bonham Carter - Jenny - Younger & Older / The Witch

Alison Lohman - Sandra Bloom - Younger

Robert Guillaume - Dr. Bennett - Older
Marion Cotillard - Josephine
Matthew McGrory - Karl the Giant

David Denman - Don Price - Age 18-22

Missi Pyle - Mildred
Loudon Wainwright III - Beamen (as Loudon Wainwright)

Ada Tai - Ping

Arlene Tai - Jing