A masterpiece can last forever, immortalized within the frame of a picture the way a camera catches a moment in time. Yet the mechanics of getting paint on canvas would bore even the sturdiest of cinema audiences. Movies have a longstanding love affair with art, but one that focuses more on the creators than the result. Art is used as a catalyst for conflict, fanaticism, passion, malevolence and good old-fashioned greed.
Tim Burton’s BIG EYES embodies the last of these qualities and also a smattering of the others. It tells the story of Margaret Keane, whose marriage to husband Walter was defined and eventually destroyed by her work, characterized by the exaggerated eyes of the title. Released in cinemas from Boxing Day, now is a good time to take a look back at how filmmakers have shown the brushstrokes and bad behaviour that gave rise to and surrounded the creation of some of the world’s best-loved pieces...
