Jack and I enjoyed this story of the painter of kids with freakishly large eyes and the overbearing husband who took credit for her work. We're both old enough to remember the kitschy art that permeated our youth and we particularly liked the sets, cars, artifacts of the late 50s and 60s, and that magnificent suburban house in act two.
Amy Adams (last blogged in Her) and Christoph Waltz (most recently in Horrible Bosses 2) are both nominated for Golden Globes for their powerful performances as Margaret and Walter Keane. The movie is narrated by Danny Huston (last in The Congress), playing a gossip columnist and Jason Schwartzman (most recently in The Grand Budapest Hotel), who produced, has a small part as a disgusted gallery owner
We're fans of director Tim Burton's (last blogged for Dark Shadows) and this one is much more normal than his usual fare. The screenplay is by the writing team Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski (co-wrote Ed Wood (1994) for Burton and The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) and Man on the Moon (1999) (about Andy Kaufman) for Milos Forman--all bio-pics) and they've been nominated for Best Screenplay from the Independent Spirit Awards.
Three other nominations that caught my eye just now are from the Women Film Critics Circle Awards: the Karen Morley Award (for best exemplifying a woman's place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity), the Invisible Woman Award (performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored) for Adams, and Worst Male Images in a Movie. I know, right?
Composer Danny Elfman (most recently blogged for Mr. Peabody & Sherman) has already shown us he can do normal as well as "out there," and this is in the former camp. Listen for yourself at this link, which also includes the two original songs by Lana Del Rey.
If you haven't yet seen the movie and plan to do so, watch carefully during the scene where Margaret and Walter are painting in front of the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts. Apparently the real Margaret Keane is sitting on a park bench reading a book. If you have already seen it, go ahead and read this spoiler-filled page about the true story compared to the one on screen.
Certainly there are better and more important movies out there right now (Rotten Tomatoes' critics average 70% and audiences 74), but if you've seen them all, give this one a look with your own little eyes on a big screen, or save it for a night at home after the DVD release in April or so.
We're fans of director Tim Burton's (last blogged for Dark Shadows) and this one is much more normal than his usual fare. The screenplay is by the writing team Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski (co-wrote Ed Wood (1994) for Burton and The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) and Man on the Moon (1999) (about Andy Kaufman) for Milos Forman--all bio-pics) and they've been nominated for Best Screenplay from the Independent Spirit Awards.
Three other nominations that caught my eye just now are from the Women Film Critics Circle Awards: the Karen Morley Award (for best exemplifying a woman's place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity), the Invisible Woman Award (performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored) for Adams, and Worst Male Images in a Movie. I know, right?
If you haven't yet seen the movie and plan to do so, watch carefully during the scene where Margaret and Walter are painting in front of the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts. Apparently the real Margaret Keane is sitting on a park bench reading a book. If you have already seen it, go ahead and read this spoiler-filled page about the true story compared to the one on screen.
Certainly there are better and more important movies out there right now (Rotten Tomatoes' critics average 70% and audiences 74), but if you've seen them all, give this one a look with your own little eyes on a big screen, or save it for a night at home after the DVD release in April or so.
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