Every once in a while, I’ll see a preview for the first time that I have absolutely no interest in. The movie looks cheesy, bland, weird, and so on. But then the film earns a solid rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and I’ll read what a couple of critics who liked the movie have said about it. And then I’ll watch the same trailer again and try to watch it with a different set of eyes. And between my first and second viewing, something convinced me to give the movie a chance. With Tim Burton’s (Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands) Big Eyes, my chief complaint was that the film would be a little too weird for me. However, after a couple of weeks, I convinced myself I would see that movie. I hoped to catch this one in the theater (generally speaking, I am far less distracted in a theater than at home, but then again, I’m Captain Obvious with this statement). However, Big Eyes grabbed my attention from the get-go and held it through the 1-hour 45-minute viewing.

As mentioned in many of my recent posts, 2014 was most certainly not the best year for movies overall. It was slightly below average at best. However, my four favorite films of the year were based on true stories. There were a couple of others in my top 12-15 or so based on true stories. And Big Eyes, based on a true story, has made that list. Amy Adams (Doubt, The Fighter) gave my favorite performance of her career, while Christopher Waltz (Django Unchained, Inglourious Basterds) was phenomenal. He played an artistic painter/realtor, Walter Keane, a completely unpredictable (I won’t say anymore) character who will have you guessing the entire time. His extroverted, upbeat personality balances the quieter, more reserved Margaret (Adams), who recently left her husband and moved up to Northern California with her eight-year-old daughter Jane.

The movie spans about a decade. The pair meets up at a San Francisco street gallery art show, where he is selling paintings of street scenes from his time studying art in France. Walter is an accomplished artist. He is likable, persuasive, and able to self-promote his works. On the other hand, as a part-time job, Margaret draws people’s portraits at outdoor art shows. While he is negotiating prices in the $30 range for his street paintings, she is talked down from $2 a picture to $1. She can draw her portraits extremely fast. The unique feature she adds to her portraits is that she paints the eyes really quite big. She quickly learns that it doesn’t necessarily matter how good an artist you are. You have to know how to sell them and to whom. It doesn’t help that, in late 1958, you are a woman artist. Back then, a woman wasn’t taken as seriously as your male counterparts.

Margaret is intrigued by Walter and his persuasive talk. He is equally as enamored with the woman at the stand next to him and intrigued by her “big eye” portraits. It isn’t long before the two are dating and soon married. Margaret learns early on that Walter is much more of a businessperson than an artist. This explains some things to her, notably how he can sell himself. Together, they attempt to sell their art. He has dreams of being a millionaire. She wants recognition for the work that she does. Early on, neither is achieving either of their goals. However, that begins to change when Walter offers to rent the empty wall space in a frequently visited bar/restaurant club in San Francisco. Walter and Margaret take turns standing in the hallway to the bathroom to observe patrons’ reactions to their work. Soon, the art will be recognized. However, Margaret’s, not Walter’s, work is receiving all the praise.

Unbeknownst to Margaret, Walter starts claiming her work as his. When she eventually finds out, he convinces her to go along with it, and soon the pair begins fooling everyone, going to insane lengths to keep their scheme a secret. They fool everyone. This even causes Margaret to lie to Jane. As Jane gets older, this becomes much more difficult to conceal. Both artists have to set up art studios in their lovely house, which they keep private from visitors. Before long, the lies start catching up with Margaret and Walter, and his jealousy becomes overbearing. The character studies of these two main characters are reason enough to see the movie on its own. There are a couple of twists here that I will not mention. Another reason to see the film is for the artwork itself. Margaret Keane’s work, while weird at first, soon became amazing to me.