Big Fish in a Small Pond

(Ewan McGregor as Edward Bloom in Big Fish)

Directed by Tim Burton, Big Fish (2003) is a fantastical story about a young man and his complicated relationship with his father, Edward Bloom. Throughout the movie, we are taken through key points in Edward’s life, and shown how he affects those around him. In almost every important part of his life, the narrative includes the symbol of a ‘big fish’. Through the use of a metaphor relating Edward Bloom to a big fish, Director Tim Burton is able to tell a compelling tale of a man’s ambition, love and reconciliation.

To begin, the opening shot of the film is underwater, and we follow the path of a large fish, with young Edward narrating. He says, “There are some fish that cannot be caught. It's not that they are faster or stronger than other fish, they're just touched by something extra.”. This opening line could not better describe our wide eyed protagonist, Edward Bloom! We see that he fits the idiom, “big fish in a small pond” perfectly, as Ashton, AL is the epitome of a classic small hometown. And, in Edward Bloom fashion, he becomes that ‘Hometown Hero’, shown through shots of him as the star baseball player, star football player, star basketball player, entrepreneur of his own business- Bloom Landscaping, winner of the science fair, and even a firefighter, rescuing a family before the firemen arrived! Young Ed says, “I was the biggest thing Ashton had ever seen.”. His ambitions and hopes exceed Ashton, and he ends up leaving for bigger things with a giant named Karl, who also was too big (in a literal sense) for the small town.

The meaning of the opening line is deepened by the introduction of Spectre, AL to the story. At first the town seems heavenly, ethereal, a place you could stay at forever. This is shown through the shoes thrown over the entrance to the town, a symbol of all the people Spectre has caught and that stayed. This is also shown through famous Ashton poet Norther Winslow, who went missing a while ago, but had been in Spectre the whole time. Through the portrayal of the the town and people of Spectre, I viewed these scenes as an effort to ‘catch’ Edward, the ‘big fish’. Young Jenny steals his shoes and throws them over the wire in an effort to keep him there, and all the townspeople encourage him to stay for lunch, dinner, the party, forever. But, like the opening line says, “There are some fish that cannot be caught.”. Edward treks on, barefoot, as his dreams and ambitions are too big for the complacent and idyllic town of Spectre, AL.

Another main theme the ‘big fish’ metaphor hits is love. Edward tells a story of how on Will’s day of birth, he caught an uncatchable fish with his wedding ring. This story is an anecdote Ed tells about how he got his wife, as he says, “Sometimes, the only way to catch an uncatchable woman is to offer her a wedding ring.”. Edward is madly in love with Sandra, seen in the way he works for free for months on end just to find out who she is. He makes grand gestures, and even plants a whole field of daffodils right outside her home. He also rejects Jenny’s advances, because Sandra is his one and only. Burton adds these scenes to the shows the audience how much Edward cares about his ‘uncatchable fish’. We continuously see this fish used as a metaphor for his love for Sandra, as shown at the end of the film.

At the end of the film, Will finally sees his father for who he truly is. He takes up his father’s imaginative view of the world and turns Edward’s death into something more. Will says, “You become what you always were: a very big fish.”. In the closing scene, we see this transformation. As Will tells the story, we are taken to the river behind Sandra and Edward’s home, and we have a collection of characters waiting for us. All the people from Edward’s stories are nostalgically welcoming him home, seen by the joyous waving and cheering, and Josephine taking his shoes and throwing them over a wire. Will takes Edward to the water, and Sandra is waiting there for him. As they share a tearful goodbye, Edward hands her his wedding ring, sealing the ‘uncatchable fish’ with the ‘uncatchable woman’ metaphor. In the hospital, Will and his father are alone, and we see the reconciliation between them. The son, who has always despised his father’s stories, finds the love and beauty in them, and adopts his father’s perspective to show his understanding right before he passes away. In his tale, Will sets Edward down into the water, and he becomes what Burton has made him out to be throughout the film, a big fish. Edward transforms into his metaphor and swims away. Afterwards, Will narrates, "A man tells his stories so many times, that he becomes the stories. They live on after him, and in that way, he becomes immortal.”, and we see a shot of a large catfish jumping out fo the water.

Tim Burton’s ability to convey emotions through narrative set the film up to do big things. Big Fish illustrates the story of Edward Bloom’s ambition to do more, his love for his Wife, and the ultimate reconciliation of Father and Son through the metaphor of a titular big fish.

Works Cited

Burton, Tim, director. Big Fish.