The trailer has finally arrived for Tim Burton’s Big Eyes, starring Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz as Margaret and Walter Keane, the couple behind the paintings, postcards, and prints of big-eyed children that created a sensation across the U.S.
What begins as a picturesque romance and then marriage — Walter approaches Margaret, a stranger, at the beach to flirt and compliment her art — ultimately devolves into an unfair business arrangement. Walter takes credit for his wife’s work, explaining that “lady art” doesn’t sell, so it is he who receives the praise and attention that Margaret is entitled to.
The trailer shows Walter lying to Margaret’s daughter about the source of the artwork, which is what seems to cause Margaret the most heartbreak, and, to impetus to finally take a stand. The paintings are, as she explains, “a part of her being,” so being denied credit for them — and allowing credit to be given elsewhere — is, in a way, rejecting part of her being.
We’ve been looking forward to Big Eyes for a long time, but especially since March, when Women and Hollywood interviewed Krysten Ritter, who also appears in the film. Of working with Adams, Ritter said: “Everything Amy Adams does is pretty spectacular. Watching her, being in a scene with her — sometimes I would notice myself just watching her like an audience member and be like, ‘Wait a minute! I’m in a scene!’ She’s so colorful in her acting. She’s like jazz: she’s all over the place.”
By this point, we all know that the five-time Oscar nominee is spectacular, but lately Adams has been in more ensemble films, so it’ll be a pleasure to see her front and center again in what appears to be a very promising biopic.
Big Eyes opens December 25.
