Snap Judgment: I'm too young to ever have been part of the Big Eyes craze. How was something so creepy so popular? Of course, this was the same era as troll dolls, so maybe creepy was just trendy in the 1960s.
Chris Waltz and Amy Adam act their hearts out, but can't save the movie from the cinematic cardinal sin: it's boring. The one bright spot is the courtroom scene, which manages to be funny and kinetic.
Chris Waltz and Amy Adam act their hearts out, but can't save the movie from the cinematic cardinal sin: it's boring. The one bright spot is the courtroom scene, which manages to be funny and kinetic.
Chris Waltz plays what he plays best - a charming, smarmy, likeable, hateable man. He's Walter Keane, a conman who finds his best long con in Amy Adam's Margaret Keane. She's sweet and timid and happy to be taken care of after running away from her abusive ex-husband.
Amy Adams turns out to be a talented artist (if by talent, you mean really good at drawing creepy children). Chris Waltz is an excellent salesman. Together they create an empire of creepy children all across America (and then the world). Unfortunately, Chris Waltz doesn't want to share any success, so he takes all the credit and uses Amy Adams as a one-woman creepy child sweatshop.
Chris Waltz and Amy Adams play their roles with conviction. But something is missing in the film. The individual scenes worked, but it didn't come together.
Grade: B
Final Verdict: Beautifully acted but ultimately hollow. The courtroom scene (where Amy Adams takes on Chris Waltz in a court of law) was funny and sparkling - worth seeing, but not worth sitting through the whole movie for.
If You Like This, Watch: Sweeney Todd, La Vie en Rose, The Theory of Everything, Girl With a Pearl Earring, Frida
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