There are similarities to be drawn here with the Genesis account of Jacob and Rachel and how long he had to endure before he finally gets the girl. The potency of the love story between Edward and Sandra ( Jessica Lange) was just as poignant as Edward and Will’s relationship. Because he knew, and was not afraid, it gave him a kind of boldness and faith in how he faced life and any troubles along the way. In Psalm 90:12 Moses prays, “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Edward’s seeing of how he would die, becomes a springboard for how he lives the rest of his life.

While the idea of a witch character was not appealing, one biblical idea did come to mind in light of Edward’s experience. At one point he mentions that it was from the witch that he got the best counsel. The witch is initially presented as overly frightening, but during the brief time we see her, she becomes more of a friendly character to Edward. When Edward looks into the eye, we are kept from seeing what he sees, which hooks us into this mystery until the end of the film. Edward and his friends each look into the witch’s glass eyeball, believing that when they do, they will see how they’re going to die. The embellished flashbacks about Edward’s adventures start in his adolescence when he and some friends visit a supposed haunted house occupied by a witch. Most of all, Will just wants to know his dad.

As a journalist and a soon-to-be father, Will investigates the validity of these stories he has always heard hoping to discover the truth before his father passes away. The basic conflict of the story lies between Edward and his son, Will ( Billy Crudup), who believes his dad has never told him anything true his whole life. This whale of a tale entertains with larger-than-life exaggerations, while also inspiring in some of the most meaningful of relationships.Įdward Bloom (Albert Finney AND Ewan McGregor) is such a “Big Fish” that he was played by not one, but two film stars. As poet Muriel Ruykeyser said, “The world is made up of stories, not atoms,” so, too, “Big Fish” is a fable fused with fiction, not facts, from one man’s life.

Big fish 2003