3. Ed Bloom - Big Fish
This is a strange choice, because anyone who has seen this film knows that Ed Bloom was a great man who lived an amazing life and never had a bad word to say about anyone. It certainly wasnt necessary for him to redeem himself in any way. Ive included it because in the eyes of his son, Will, he was a poor father, always stealing the show and even taking the attention away from him on his special days. Besides, all the stories and tall tales he told were just lies and imagination right? Wrong. We learn by the end that Eds life was as magical as he always said it was, but when we look at him as we do through his sons eyes you sort of understand why Will is so short with his father. We dont know until the very end how much of the implausible life story Ed tells Will is true and there was always the possibility it wouldnt be. I was always on Eds side during this film because he is played so likably by Finney and even if he bent the truth now and then it didnt matter with me. Director Tim Burton pulls out all the quirks and tricks he has to make the flashback sequences where Ed - played equally well by Ewan McGregor - tells his story, whimsical and charming. By the end, Will fulfils his fathers last wish and tells him the story of how he died, but he still has a bitter taste in his mouth, never feeling like he had a proper father. It is only when he meets all the unbelievable characters at his dads funeral that he realises how much he touched the lives of others and what a great man he was. In that moment, in the eyes of his son, Ed is redeemed. I'm not the biggest Burton fan but this is one of my favourite films because of the non-linear structure and the way each frame is carefully crafted. But this is the icing on the cake that is the compelling father/son relationship in Big Fish.