Big Eyes | Rotten Tomatoes

Big Eyes

PG-13

Released Dec 25, 2014

1 hr. 46 min.

Biography

Drama

List

72%

196 Reviews

Tomatometer

68%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In the late 1950s and early '60s, artist Walter Keane (Christoph Waltz) achieves unbelievable fame and success with portraits of saucer-eyed waifs. However, no one realizes that his wife, Margaret (Amy Adams), is the real painter behind the brush. Although Margaret is horrified to learn that Walter is passing off her work as his own, she is too meek to protest too loudly. It isn't until the Keanes' marriage comes to an end and a lawsuit follows that the truth finally comes to light.

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Critics Consensus

Well-acted, thought-provoking, and a refreshing change of pace for Tim Burton, Big Eyes works both as a biopic and as a timelessly relevant piece of social commentary.

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Jeff M

A disappointment from director Tim Burton, though not as bad as ALICE IN WONDERLAND, this drama tells the true story of artist Margaret Keane, whose husband Walter took credit for her famous paintings of children with big eyes, until a court case finally proved her as the true creator. This is a very frustrating film, as it doesn't convince us why Margaret went along with the scam for so many years - she almost comes across as a Stepford Wives-like zombie. Supporting characters are not well developed, Amy Adams as Margaret is fine but Christoph Waltz as Walter is way over the top. Some good moments but not an overall success.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/11/24

Full Review

Alec B

Adams and Waltz are obviously quite good, but the film runs out of steam despite their best efforts. Whenever biopics of this kind move into the inevitable courtroom drama portion of their narrative, I just find it tedious.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

12/13/23

Full Review

Simon T

The strange story of Margaret Keane, whose idiosyncratic paintings are falsely credited to her husband Walter, until a court case reveals the truth. The art itself remains hugely divisive - I'm in the 'yuk' camp - which explains Tim Burton's interest. Amy Adams has the difficult job of internalising her fury allowing Christoph Waltz as her manipulative husband to dominate most scenes. It's a very straightforward story, and - while I'm a great admirer of Waltz - I think he's miscast, simply because from the beginning you mistrust him.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/16/23

Full Review

Retro C

Tim Burton's Big Eyes tells the true story of 1950's-60's artist Margaret Keane and her relationship with then-husband Walter in what was the director's first biopic since Ed Wood. Though the film does explore Margaret's (Amy Adams) art, the focus here is on how Walter Keane's (Christoph Waltz) appropriation of his wife's work changed her life at a time when women had little say. After Margaret allows Walter to take all of the credit for her big-eyed creations, they become something of a sensation over the course of only a few years but the cost of giving up her artistic rights becomes too much for her. While Big Eyes does tell Margaret Keane's story with heart and laughs, Burton himself seems to be mostly absent. There are a handful of admittedly "Burtonian" moments but one wishes that the director's voice could have been heard more. As it stands, pretty much anyone else could have made this movie the way it is. That said, Big Eyes is definitely a well made film and is a touch better than most mainstream biopics out there, skillfully avoiding any pretentiousness, something that films about art tend to fail at. Amy Adams gives yet another brilliant performance while Christoph Waltz is endearingly over-the-top, if very nearly cartoonish, throughout. You can see why Margaret would fall for Walter's charms but you can also see why she'd be scared of him and feel trapped. Burton fans should not expect too much weirdness from this one but should give the film a go, if only to learn about Margaret Keane and her fascinating story. The leads are also well worth it. While not essential viewing, Big Eyes remains a tightly made film with some great moments.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/12/23

Full Review

Wayne K

Tim Burton films have, for me, been very hit and miss. He's had great ones, like Batman & Ed Wood and terrible ones, like Alice In Wonderland and Planet Of The Apes. Big Eyes was, as many have pointed out, a refreshing change from his usual fare. Rather than making another quirky dark comedy with Johnny Depp and/or Helena Bonham Carter, he's decided to go for a mostly colourful biopic of Margaret Keane, a talented artist whose work was plagiarised by her own husband, leaving her in despair and obscurity for years. Amy Adams does a great job of capturing both Margarets indominable spirit and also her slipping sense of sanity, and Christoph Waltz constantly oscillates between charming and punchable, a technique helped along by his enormous, toothy smile. What makes the central story work is how believable the scenario is. It's easy to see why Margaret would be so taken with Walter, why she would decide to share her life with him, why she would allow him to take credit for her hard work, and why she'd go along with the ruse for so long. Watching her grow tired and fight back is extremely satisfying, and the ending court scene is both hilarious and cringeworthy. The tonal shifts are a bit weird, including a scene where it almost goes into straight up horror, but for the most part it keeps things upbeat enough that you don't get bored or depressed. As a biopic of a lesser-known figure of pop culture, Ed Wood is still Burton's best, but if you don't have that available, Big Eyes makes a very worthy substitute.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/29/23

Full Review

Tiffany L

I love most of the Tim Burtons movies I've watched but i also don't go really go outside of his Disney ones until i tried this one. It's absolutely amazing I'd highly recommend!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/25/23

Full Review

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Tim Burton

Director

Amy Adams

Margaret Keane

Christoph Waltz

Walter Keane

Danny Huston

Dick Nolan

Krysten Ritter

Dee Ann

Jason Schwartzman

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Andi Zeisler

Bitch Media

The stranger-than-fiction biopic Big Eyes is only the second of [Tim Burton's] non-animated pictures to have a woman at its center, and, perhaps not surprisingly, it's one of the richest portraits he's brought to the screen yet.

Jan 22, 2021

Full Review

Scott Marks

San Diego Reader

Burton had a chance to make a powerful statement on the struggle for a woman to achieve artistic recognition and instead settled for another childlike fairy tale.

Rated: 0/5

May 23, 2016

Full Review

David Stratton

The Australian

Burton is telling a fascinating story here, and his confident sense of time and place, allied to Adams's adept performance as the increasingly assertive artist, provide many pleasures.

Rated: 3.5/5

Mar 27, 2015

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

The film works thanks to Burton’s affection for both the art and the artist, Adams’ resilient performance, and a story that is too fascinating to be fiction.

Aug 19, 2023

Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

Quirky bits a humor shake the tone up a bit and Burton does several things with his camera that hearkens back to some of his earlier films.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 19, 2022

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

The film paints in thick brushstrokes.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jul 13, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

In the late 1950s and early '60s, artist Walter Keane (Christoph Waltz) achieves unbelievable fame and success with portraits of saucer-eyed waifs. However, no one realizes that his wife, Margaret (Amy Adams), is the real painter behind the brush. Although Margaret is horrified to learn that Walter is passing off her work as his own, she is too meek to protest too loudly. It isn't until the Keanes' marriage comes to an end and a lawsuit follows that the truth finally comes to light.

Director: Tim Burton
Executive Producer: Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein, Jamie Patricof, Katterli Frauenfelder, Derek Frey
Screenwriter: Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski
Distributor: Weinstein Co.
Production Co: Electric City Entertainment, Tim Burton
Rating: PG-13 (Thematic Elements|Brief Strong Language)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 25, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 25, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $14.5M

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