Burton’s latest film is quite the catch

“Big Fish”

Starring Ewan McGregor, Alison Lohman, Helena Bonham Carter,…

“Big Fish”

Starring Ewan McGregor, Alison Lohman, Helena Bonham Carter, Jessica Lange, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Danny DeVito

Directed by Tim Burton

The role of the storyteller has never been as whimsically and elegantly portrayed in a film as it is in Tim Burton’s latest, “Big Fish.” And while the film celebrates the storyteller, the film becomes almost an allegory of how storytelling has been forgotten in that most magical of mediums, cinema.

Edward Bloom (Albert Finney in the present and Ewan McGregor in flashbacks) is dying. He’s lived a full life, married the woman of his dreams and has traveled the world. But the one thing he wants most, a relationship with his estranged son Will (Billy Crudup), is something he might not be able to have. They haven’t talked in years, mostly out of his son’s annoyance with he sees as his father’s tall tales. For him, the looming passing of Edward signals the last time he’ll have the chance to have the record set straight.

Edward’s travels have taken him from a life as a “big fish” in his small-town pond to working as a carnival hand – where he first set eyes on his soul mate Sandra (Jessica Lange in the present, Alison Lohman in flashbacks) – living the life of a paratrooper in the Korean War and working as a traveling salesman.

Such experiences might seem anything but uncommon on their own, but every story has its fair share of colorful characters and places to make them remarkable. There’s the giant who “terrorizes” Edward’s small town, the impish, bombastic werewolf who runs the carnival (Danny DeVito), the small town out in the woods populated by its fair share of interesting characters – including a poet-turned-bank robber whom Edward meets during a stop in a small town during his traveling salesman days and a woman living in a dilapidated old house, who may or may not be the witch he claims to have encountered in his youth.

These stories, as visualized by Burton, are indeed outrageous. But they are never unbelievable. When Edward talks of meeting a giant, chances are the “giant” wasn’t quite so monstrous. But in a small, Southern town in the ’40s, anyone much taller than six feet might be seen as ghastly, with plans to terrorize the town. But hearing these fantastic stories as Edward relates them to his son, from the time he was a young boy to the married father-to-be he is now, becomes bittersweet, because his son won’t allow the magic of the tales to reenter him. He becomes the naysayer, the skeptic who thinks his father was having an affair during the weeks and months he was on the road as a “salesman,” not wanting to believe he was in fact helping to save a small town lying in ruin.

Burton directs the film with the necessary whimsy the stories require. Take the scene in which Edward first sees Sandra at the carnival. Time stops, as does everyone in the tent except for Edward and Sandra. He tries to walk to her, but in his way are people and popcorn kernels thrown in the air. The use of the stop-time effects made famous by “The Matrix” have never been used to such an emotional end. Burton creates for the audience what it must be like to have love hit you square between the eyes. Burton knows it’s not enough to just say “I saw the woman I was going to marry.” You have to show it. Burton does this with a magic and charm that flows throughout the entire film.

But while he injects this into the film, you have to think that Burton is atoning for the misstep that was “Planet of the Apes.” A film of style over substance, it tied his hands, not allowing him to make the character- and plot-driven films that are his best, like “Edward Scissorhands” and “Ed Wood.” And though “Big Fish” contains typical Burton elements – freakish outcasts, unbelievable situations and an embrace of both – it seems as though he made the film to show moviegoers that he hasn’t forgotten the importance of stories and how a good storyteller can turn the mundane into magic. Edward is such a storyteller, as is Burton. And when the credits roll, Edward Bloom might as well be a cinematic representation of Burton himself, fighting for the importance of telling a good story in a world made cynical by fakery and cheap bangs for big bucks.

Of course, all of this says nothing of the performances. McGregor is, as always, on top of his game, and he’s dead-on as a young Albert Finney. But what this film shows is McGregor’s knack for picking interesting, diverse projects. From “Velvet Goldmine” and “Moulin Rouge” to “Down With Love” and now “Big Fish,” he has shown a range and ability not present in many other actors of his generation.

The other actors, Lohman, DeVito, Bonham Carter and Finney, are just as good as McGregor, despite being pushed to more supporting roles. Lange, unfortunately, is underused in the film. It would have been interesting to see more of her character than we do, but it’s not to be.

“Big Fish,” thanks to this acting work and the wonderful direction of Burton, is one of the better films from 2003, standing out brightly in a crowded multiplex of loud clunkers and explosive duds.

“Big Fish” opens in Pittsburgh theaters Friday.