The good news is the Tim Burton who makes the movies I like without regret years later showed up to make this adaptation from the same duo responsible for Ed Wood. Any bad news? Nothing too serious other than I’m rather tired of Amy Adams being in about a third of the non-tent-pole movies I see.
As the trailers and ads explain, Eyes is a Hollywoodized take on the story of Margaret and Walter Keane, the duo behind those kitschy, cheesy paintings of children with eyes larger than a Disney princess and sad expressions. I always thought it was a style thing, I didn’t know we could blame a mere couple people. Whether or not the explanation Margaret gave in the movie was factual, it was at least believable; when she was a child, an illness she contracted made her deaf for a while, so people’s eyes were something Margaret paid more attention to.
The film also provides some stronger context on how Margaret’s work became popular, it was first showcased in San Francisco during the early Sixties when the city was a Bohemian/Hipster capital. Walter may have been a horrible person for taking all the credit but he was a marketing genius by having prints made to sell to those wanting the art without the “art” price tag.
I particularly loved Terrence Stamp as John Canaday, the New York Times‘ art critic. Canady allegedly despised Keane’s material. Maybe he’s an amalgamation of critics and could’ve changed his tune once he discovered the truth about Margaret doing the work. The scenery is another character I enjoyed, namely the California we no longer have nor San Francisco thanks to the Technorati destroying it. Definitely captured the period: casual smoking, mixed drinks any time and no seat belts!
Walter is certainly a despicable person whose dishonesty grows exponentially with the wealth the Keanes gained. Margaret isn’t exactly a sympathetic character herself at the end since she joins the Jehovah’s Witnesses after their divorce. Having dated one (the girl hated being a member), they’re a joyless, full-of-crap lot and I’m confident they got a sizable chunk of Margaret’s settlement.
Last little chunk of trivia I saw while sticking around through the credits. Musician Matthew Sweet was a historical consultant which made sense because a Margaret Keane painting (her “secret” style) was the album cover for In Reverse.
Alamo Extras: Some cartoon of a bear and a painter from the Thirties; two music videos from the Sixties to set the context, namely a re-wording of “King of the Road” to “Queen of the House”; an SNL skit of Adam Sanberg and Paul Rudd painting each other a la Titanic; Danny Elfman singing “Daisy Bell”; some Pee Wee’s Playhouse; a skit from The Mighty Boosh; famous paintings modified with Keane eyes; and Bill Plympton’s cartoon “Your Face.”