Christian Sanchez44
Active Member
67 messages
joined Jul 2005
The movie is, at the very least, absolutely stunning. It’s pure Burton—taking that sense of childhood wonder and grounding it in reality. He blends the two so seamlessly that even when things veer into the surreal or feel totally absurd, there's this moment where the entire narrative snaps back into focus, making everything feel completely logical, if not more so!
I have some gripes with the dramatic structure, though. The history is either presented through flashbacks of the father or via the stories the son tells about him. Fortunately, the fairytale segments (obviously) take up much more screen time than the "present day" stuff, but the gap between the two is so massive and glaringly obvious that it actually feels a bit jarring at times. 😁 There is just one single scene that successfully bridges the gap between the fable and reality, matching the atmosphere and spirit of those flashbacks perfectly—that moment where they're sitting at the table, eating, while the Father talks about the parrots.
For a second there, I honestly thought the film might turn into a total tear-jerker mush, but thankfully, the cast managed to steer clear of that thin line of pure sentimentality. The ending is handled in a really fascinating way, though I won't go so far as to say it wasn't predictable...
One final note—Ewan McGregor is fantastic, as usual... honestly, in whatever role he takes on, the man is simply brilliant.