Big Fish Film Analysis

The movie Big Fish is a touching story that follows a previously adventurous, tall tale telling man named Edward Bloom as he battles cancer. William, edwards son, is a regular man working an office job. He has not spoken to his father in three years due to an argument at williams wedding over the many stories that edward tells william about what he has supposedly done previously in life. William does not believe his stories and throughout the film is annoyed by them and what he believes is his father's failure to tell the truth. The film switches from present time from the perspective of Will visiting a dying edward and edward’s past life/stories. eventually, they mix at the end with will seeing bits from his father's stories allowing him to believe that his father wasn't lying and settling the inner conflict will has with his father.
Definitely cried at the end. I felt the plot was very well done as it was compelling and complex enough that you weren't bored but not too complex to the point that it was confusing. Edward reminded me a lot of my grandpa. My grandpa used to sit us down and tell us all of the adventures he had as a pirate and we would sit and listen intently soaking in every detail. This reminder is probably why i loved edwards character so much as he reminded me of my grandfather. The character Edward Bloom is a peculiar character. He is described as large in many instances. For example: when he was bedridden for growing too fast(compared himself to a goldfish), “the biggest fish get that way by never getting caught”, “you’re a big fish in a small pond”. His metaphor for himself as a big fish comes from his substantial sense of ambition throughout his stories/life. One this i still wonder about the film is if Edward was such a big fish whatever happened to Carl. If Edward is a big fish because of his ambition Carl is and even bigger fish. What did he end up doing to get that