The film Grandes Olhos (2014) is probably the least “Burtonais” by Tim Burton. It’s hard to find traces of the director’s essence. It has nothing to do with the Burton we’re used to. It’s not because it’s a story based on real facts, like it’s something he’s already done on Ed Wood. In fact, it’s a film in which we don’t see Burton’s brand, so it could be perfectly attributed to another director.
Margaret Keane’s story seems to fit well with that of Tim Burton, a great admirer of the painter’s work. The problem is the direction of the film. We don’t see Burton anymore, we see something else. At this point, it’s worth wondering if this is really a problem, as was the case with most fans who were looking forward to another film, which was consistent with the director’s particular aesthetic it was also a problem for critics, who were expecting a film like Ed Wood.
“The painting says ‘Keane’; I am Keane, you are Keane. Now, are we a? -Walter Keane, big eyes-
However, I think there are some things we can save from this film. I think we can stop thinking about Burton for a moment and focus on the film itself. Also, for those who are not loyal to the director, this may be a good idea. Discovery.
Big Eyes isn’t the highlight, but it’s not a bad movie either, the film manages to get closer to Margaret Keane’s world, her art and women’s struggle to position herself in the art world. Big Eyes is not like Edward, Scissorhands Burton’s new film is part of the history of contemporary art.
In the past few women have distinguished the the most distinguished in the art world, whether we talk about literature, philosophy, film, painting or sculpture, there are few female names that come to mind in one of these areas.
Women have been relegated to the background, patriarchal society hid them and few had an easy way in a man’s world, it is not that women write less, are less capable of painting or are not good at philosophy, it is that they they have been left in the dark.
“Nobody buys pictures painted by women. ” Walter Keane
Many women have been forced to use male pseudonyms to publish a play. Without going that far, the famous author of the Harry Potter saga used the initials JK Rowling, instead of her name Joanne, so she intended to hide that she was a woman and to allow he hed some ambiguity, avoiding being automatically classified as a woman.
Burton’s story in Big Eyes is the true story of Margaret Keane, an American painter who had to fight for the authorship of her work, Margaret signed her particular photos as Keane, her husband Walter’s surname, so the public regarded him as him. the author of the paintings.
Walter Keane was in charge of selling the paintings and running the reins of his wife’s business, even calling himself the author of these works. In the film we see Walter, played by the magnificent Christoph Waltz, as a manipulator, a kind seductive. with a very dark side.
Margaret was portrayed in the film by the excellent Amy Adams. Having married once, Margaret had her daughter Jane. In the 1950s and 1960s, it was very important for women to have a husband, family stability. Therefore, being divorced was certainly not seen, favorably.
Finding a husband who already had a daughter was no easy task. In this context, Margaret is deceived by the Charming?Walter Keane. Margaret is a woman of her time, innocent and submissive, but with great artistic talent.
First, Margaret succumbs to Walter’s charms. On the other hand, he is glad to see that his work is very well received and brings great economic benefits to the couple. But little by little, he’ll be de-enrating and he’ll see Walter as the manipulator he really is. He’s abusing her psychologically. All of this will lead to a terrible, media battle marked by the courts.
“I have never acted freely. I was a girl, then a wife, and then a mother. All my paintings are by Jane, because that’s the only thing I know. -Margaret Keane, big eyes-
Margaret wakes up from her fairy tale and begins her fight against Walter, this will lead her to a situation of constant tension to regain the paternity of her paintings, after years of struggle manages to win the case and proves that she is the true author of these “big eyes”.
For a few years the world lived a lie, not all buyers and followers of Walter Kean’s work could imagine that his wife was really hiding behind his signature, it was Margaret’s lie, the one that would mark her life and lead her to live in the cage of his own art.
“You had a Christian upbringing, you know what they teach us: man is the head of the family. Maybe you should trust that?-Big eyes-
Finally, exhausted by this situation, she divorced Walter, who was also recognized for her work. She wasn’t even aware of the situation she was involved in, she didn’t even know how difficult it would be when she started, she didn’t realize her self-esteem was buried.
The women’s revolution was just beginning. This was just the tip of the iceberg of everything that would come next. At a time when the mentality was subject to patriarchy, Margaret could not stop her manipulative husband in time. The fight lasted for years, because Walter Keane was already a renowned artist when he claimed his rights.
Margaret Keane’s struggle is the struggle of all women, of all those who want her place in the art world, it was an awakening, a rebirth. Burton presents a film that brings us closer to a reality not so far away. Margaret’s struggle will also be a fight against machismo and an entire society that has turned its back on her.
“I think you see things in your eyes, are the eyes the window of the soul?-Margaret Keane-“
Margaret’s paintings were characterized by her expressiveness and the large size of the children’s eyes that appeared there, the paintings becoming increasingly sad, like Margaret he he hem.
Children who seem to be coming out of a war. Eyes that reflect the background of the soul and human feelings. They are damning paintings, but they do not have the art to be exhibited in a museum and, for many, they are on the edge of kitsch.
Margaret Keane has famous and eccentric followers such as Burton, Joan Crawford (she had a portrait painted by Margaret) and Marilyn Manson.
The truth is that there are many collectors of Keane’s work, but she has always been considered a foreigner, a kitsch painter also to access a space of high culture.
Susan Sontag talked about it in Field Notes. La is that she wasn’t wrong when she said that “the banal, over time, can get fantastic. “This is what Burton wanted to convey in this film, to save a painter who suffered and fought for his work and who, perhaps, deserves some recognition.
“I just wanted the world to know that these were my paintings. “Margaret Keane.