Big Eyes

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Big Eyes

PG-13

Released Dec 25, 2014

1h 46m

Biography

Drama

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Popcornmeter

72%

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193 Reviews

68%

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25,000+ Ratings

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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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

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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

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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

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

The film paints in thick brushstrokes.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jul 13, 2022

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Gareth v

A restrained and refreshingly grounded turn for Tim Burton, who has put aside his usual surrealism in favour of character-driven drama.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/07/25

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Mike J.

It was okay. I got bored. Acting was meh

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/12/25

Full Review

Andzel E

Great movie and artists ❤️

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/24/25

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Sergio P

I agree with the two unsuccessful artists who said this work could be replicated in 10 minutes. As a creative person, you know that being successful (good at marketing your art) is 99.99% of the equation. The husband was brilliant at what he did. The wife comes across as ungrateful and delusional. She would have been poor and could have lost her child to her previous husband. Instead of appreciating what she had, she spiraled into madness. The husband's line, 'I would whack you,' feels like a weak attempt to make us hate him. I stopped watching after that. However, the quality of the visuals is fantastic!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

10/16/24

Full Review

Twiggy H

A decent film about justice prevailing. Great acting with a really nice film aesthetic. Does get frustrating at times but that simply shows the frustration of that situation, which is unpleasant even as an audience watching. I did glance over the review comments and have a pointers to what i read: - About the Margaret character 'going along with the scam for so many years' - it is very clearly laid out throughout that film how manipulative and controlling her husband was being, and that her own characteristics were not of someone who knew how to deal with that. Remember, she was a single mother who enjoyed painting who was also trying to make a decent living from her talent. - Not 'everyone wants to be an artist' the story simply has a character who was NEVER an artist but trying to fob his way into an industry with little to no talent of his own. That written, it barely touches the surface of the sheer frustration and disappointment some artists have in the art industry. Would be interesting to see films of this sort exposing 'bigger' names.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/27/24

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Joshua m

The best actors in hollywood doing their magic here in a hard to believe but true period piece biopic.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

06/26/24

Full Review

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Christoph Waltz

Walter Keane

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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
Producer: Tim Burton, Lynette Howell Taylor, Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski
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
Runtime: 1h 46m

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