Rarely does Tim Burton make a movie without his biggest muse Johnny Depp these days. Though Depp has appeared in some of Burton's most successful films, such as Edward Scissorhands and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, his last few collaborations with the director, such as 2012's box office bomb Dark Shadows, haven't gone over so well with the public and critics alike.
So that's why it's so refreshing to see that Depp doesn't star in Burton's upcoming directorial effort Big Eyes, whose trailer dropped Sept. 18. However, this film is loaded with talent and actors that have achieved beloved cult status, as is the case with many of Burton's films.
Big Eyes chronicles the real-life story of artist Margaret Keane (played by Amy Adams), famous for depicting children with abnormally large eyes in her paintings. However, for much of the 1950s and 1960s, Keane's husband Walter (played by Christoph Waltz) took the credit for her work until a long and bitter court battle, which included a real-live paint-off that publicly revealed Margaret as the true artist. Obviously, it's not easy living a lie in which you don't get the rewards and accolades you deserve for your art, so the film shows Margaret's struggle to paint and find her identity as her work becomes wildly successful.
In addition to Adams and Waltz, offbeat actors such as Jason Schwartzman, Krysten Ritter and Terence Stamp also star.
The movie has already sparked renewed interest in Keane's paintings. In anticipation of the film, eBay has already been inundated with framed prints, lithographs and small paintings of Keane's that are selling for $8,500 each, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Big Eyes is set to hit theaters Dec. 25, which is perfect timing to make it a contender for some major awards. This movie has the potential to finally get Amy Adams her long-awaited Oscar, and Christoph Waltz seems to just turn everything he touches into gold. From the looks of the trailer, the subject matter and casting choices are distinctly Burton, but the film itself doesn't seem to have quite the same level of creepy camp as most of the director's work. Whether that will prove to be beneficial or detrimental to the film among critics and Burton diehards, we'll just have to wait and keep our eyes peeled (pun obviously intended).
