He is now a long-time collector, and commissioned her to paint his former partner, Helena Bonham Carter, and his dog. Margaret Keane’s paintings have a personal resonance for Burton he first encountered them during his childhood. Like Wood, Margaret is a ‘creative wannabe’ and outcast, a theme also found in a number of his other films. The film bears notable similarities, for example, to Ed Wood (1994), a biopic also written by Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander. Yet, despite the more naturalistic style and conventional narrative, Big Eyes does retain some common thematic elements that we might associate with Burton’s work. The film is significantly less ‘Burton-esque’ than his previous work because it does not rely on fantasy, focusing instead on a real artist’s life and keeping “surrealism and quirk to a minimum” in favour of a realist aesthetic (Zeisler). However, Big Eyes is something of a departure from this caricature. Initially trapped by her marriage and a patriarchal society, Margaret is emancipated by the end of the film, providing a hopeful feminist perspective relevant to the 1960s context and the present day.Īuthorship and 21 st Century Hollywood The director of films such as Edward Scissorhands (1990), Sweeney Todd (2008), and Alice in Wonderland (2010), Tim Burton is often described as “eccentric”, “macabre”, and a “self-confessed weirdo” (Tasker 73). The film grapples with question of the legitimacy of art in an era of increasing industrialization and mass production. Walter feigns an arm injury Margaret wins the case (adapted from Lucca 69).įilm note A biopic of 1960s pop artist Margaret Keane, Big Eyes is an example of how to combine independent and personal filmmaking with the commercialism of 21 st century Hollywood. In count, the judge gives Walter and Margaret an hour to complete a painting. Walter retaliates by having a story published accusing Margaret of being a drunk. Later, Margaret announces the truth about the paintings during a radio interview. Before granting her a divorce, Walter demands that she paint another 100 paintings for him, which she does. Jane discovers their secret, and Walter, drunk, aggressively threatens Margaret and Jane with lit matches. Margaret discovers a crate of Walter’s street scenes, signed by another person, but he continues to insist that he painted them. Walter attacks the critic at a party and the painting is removed before the opening. Walter uses his influence to get a commission for Unicef’s Hall of Education at the 1964 World’s Fair, but it is lambasted by the leading art critic of The New York Times. He also produces and sells cheap poster reproductions of the paintings. Walter takes credit for Margaret’s paintings and opens a gallery dedicated to ‘his’ work. Walter rents a space at a jazz club to show their work, where Margaret’s portraits prove popular but Walter’s Parisian street scenes don’t sell. Here she meets charismatic artist Walter Keane, whom she soon marries. Margaret Ulbricht is a struggling single mother of Jane, selling her paintings of big-eyed children in a park art fair.
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