She created it. He sold it. And everyone bought it.
Overview
In the late 1950s and early '60s, artist Walter Keane achieves unbelievable fame and success with portraits of saucer-eyed waifs. However, no one realizes that his wife, Margaret, 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.
Ratings
Curator score: 4.2/10
IMDb: 6.9/10
Letterboxd: 3.39/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 72%
Metacritic: 62
TMDB: 7.0/10
Director
Tim Burton
Production
The Weinstein Company, Silverwood Films, Electric City Entertainment, Tim Burton Productions
Cast
Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz, Danny Huston, Jon Polito, Krysten Ritter, Jason Schwartzman, Terence Stamp, Madeleine Arthur, Delaney Raye, James Saito, Farryn VanHumbeck, Guido Furlani, Elisabetta Fantone, Emily Maddison, Brent Chapman, Gabe Khouth, Dylan Kingwell, Peter Kelamis, Deni DeLory, Desiree Zurowski
Curator Review
Verdict
A polished, accessible art-world fraud drama with a strong central performance from Amy Adams and a slyly entertaining courtroom payoff. It’s not one of Tim Burton’s most distinctive films, but it works well as a glossy, bitterly funny story about authorship, exploitation, and a woman reclaiming her work.
Best for
Viewers who like true-story dramas about art, identity, and deception
Fans of performance-driven films with a mix of satire and melodrama
Audiences who enjoy courtroom confrontations and comeuppance stories
People interested in mid-century style and heightened period design
Skip if
You want a deeply psychological or formally daring Tim Burton film
You prefer understated realism over stylized, glossy drama
You’re looking for a fast-paced legal thriller rather than a character study
You dislike stories built around gaslighting, manipulation, and marital cruelty
Overview
Big Eyes is a sleek, watchable tale of artistic theft and domestic control, anchored by Amy Adams’ patient, wounded Margaret Keane. The film is at its best when it lets the absurdity of Walter’s self-mythologizing curdle into something uglier, and when Margaret’s silence starts to feel less like passivity than survival.
Worth noting
Tim Burton keeps the tone lighter than the material might suggest, which gives the movie a strange, almost satirical edge. Christoph Waltz plays Walter as a charming fraud with just enough menace to make every lie feel both ridiculous and dangerous.
Bottom line
The movie doesn’t dig as deeply as it could into the psychology of authorship or the art market, but it lands its emotional and moral points cleanly. If you want a period drama that is part cautionary tale, part vindication fantasy, it’s an easy recommendation.
Top Letterboxd reviews
˗ˏˋ suspirliam ˊˎ˗ (4★) · 2395 likes
amy adams painting whilst lana del rey plays over the speakers? tim burton gave me my rights!!!!!
lauren (3.5★) · 2110 likes
you better lawyer up asshole, because amy adams isn't coming back for the artistic credit, she's coming back for everything
stephanie ✨ (3.5★) · 1333 likes
nobody:
walter keane: I STUDIED IN PARIS 😤 I LIVED IN PARIS 🥵 I WAS IN PARIS 🤧 I PAINTED IN PARIS 🤫 I MADE FRIENDS IN PARIS 👬 DON’T YOU GET IT... PARIS IS ME AND I AM PARIS 🤑🥴😴🥵
margaret keane: are you done yet?
Madison 🎭 (3★) · 1286 likes
men losing in court is sooooo good thank u god
sam (4.5★) · 992 likes
it wouldn't be surprising if adam ate the apple and blamed it on eve instead. all men do is lie.