History Film / BigEyes

* SpiritualSuccessor: To Tim Burton's first {{biopic}} ''Film/EdWood'', written by the same screenwriters 20 years prior. Both even featured a lead character who's an alcoholic and had overlying themes of DoingItForTheArt.

* DrowningMySorrows: The first thing Walter does any time he's turned down by a potential buyer or has to take any criticism is getting drunk. He eventually turns into a violent alcoholic when fame gets to him and he has to force Margret harder and harder to keep up the lie.

** Walter is seen watching ''Series/PerryMason'' on TV just before the art critic comes on to rip apart "his" art. When he takes Margret to court, Dick Nolan muses to himself that this is Walter's only insight into courtroom procedures and that he doesn't stand a chance.

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: [[spoiler: Walter spent the rest of his life trying to reclaim credit for Margaret's work and died bitter, penniless, and never produced another painting. Margret, meanwhile, happily remarried, returned to San Francisco and continues to paint every day]].

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler: Walter eventually dies in poverty, but considering his manipulative and abusive actions towards Margaret and others, nobody seems to miss him at all]].

* DisappearedDad: While he is mentioned, Jane's father - and Margaret's first husband - never appears, save a wedding photo.

* BigAnimeEyes: The film is about the life of Margaret Keane, a famous American artist that painted women as well children and animals with big and expressive eyes before {{anime}} was known in Western.

* ConArtist: Walter Keane. See "TheBarnum."

* PunnyName: S. Cenic, the scenic artist [[spoiler: who's paintings Walter plagiarized]].

* ArmyOfLawyers: Walter brings lawyers from the Gannett Company to the trial to defend him. This turns out to be a subversion, since the lawyers were only there to point out that Gannett were immune from defamation prosecution since they were reporting on a person's claims in relation to a significant public event, and hence were protected by the First Amendment. They leave as soon as the judge dismisses the case against them, leaving Walter to defend himself for actually making the defamatory allegation.

* CausticCritic: John Canady, is one of the only people to really make Walter lose his composure and display his inner-rage. While it's nice seeing him bring Walter down a peg or two he can rub the audience the wrong way for being so hard on Margaret's art, although the main thing he seems to resent is Walter's excessive and shameless over-promotion.

* ManipulativeBastard: Walter convinces Margaret that her paintings will only be taken seriously if people thought that a man made them.

* CausticCritic: John Canady, one of the only people to really make Walter loose his composure and display his inner-rage. While its nice seeing him bring Walter down a peg or two he can rub the audience the wrong way for being so hard on Margaret's art, although the main thing he seems to resent is Walter's excessive and shameless over-promotion.

* CourtroomAntics: The final and probably best scene of the movie is full of this, as [[spoiler: Walter loses his lawyer team just before Margaret's lawsuit is reviewed and [[AFoolForAClient chooses to represent himself]] instead of asking for the trial to be postponed and get someone else. Eventually he and Margaret end up shouting at one another, leading to an exasperated judge declaring that they'll have a paint-off to resolve the issue once and for all. Walter proceeds to fake an arm injury to try to get out of it.]]
* DeadpanSnarker: Critic John Canady when he's dealing with Walter, especially after Walter drags out th overdone insult of a critic being someone unable to create.
* DecoyProtagonist: Dick Nolan, the narrator and a newspaper reporter friend of the family, is ultimately uninvolved in exposing the truth, and never has any final scene talking about things with Margaret. He lampshades this when noting his frustration about how Margaret didn't; chose to approach him for the story.
* DisappearedDad: While he is mentioned, Jane's father and Margaret's first husband never appears, save a wedding photo.

* DrowningMySorrows: The first thing Walter does any time he's turned down by a potential buyer or has to take any criticism is get drunk. He eventually turns into a violent alcoholic when fame gets to him and he has to force Margret harder and harder to keep up the lie.

** When Margaret and Walter are painting side by side in a park, Jane notes that Walter's canvas is blank, and in fact he does not paint anything for the entire scene. [[spoiler: He isn't actually a painter.]]

* HollywoodLaw: In universe example. Walter represents himself in the court case and his only prior experience is from watching ''Series/PerryMason''. The judge calls him out on his posturing.

* KickTheDog: Walter telling Margaret that he "puts up with" her daughter.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: The Judge, who gives Margaret plenty of chances to prove her story, keeps Walter in line and does dismiss the case against the paper quickly while noting there was some lying on both parts ,given Margaret's long-term acquiescence to her husbands lies.
* ReclusiveArtist: InUniverse. Margaret is forced into this state by Walter, Walter taking credit for creating them while Margaret spending all of her time making them in her studio.

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: [[spoiler: Walter spent the rest of his life trying to reclaim credit for Margaret's work and died bitter, penniless and having never produced another painting. Margret, meanwhile, happily remarried, returned to San Francisco and continues to paint every day]].

* CausticCritic: John Candy, one of the only people to really make Walter loose his composure and display his inner-rage. While its nice seeing him bring Walter down a peg or two he can rub the audience the wrong way for being so hard on Margaret's art, although the main thing he seems to resent is Walter's excessive and shameless over-promotion.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To Tim Burton's first biopic ''Film/EdWood'', written by the same screenwriters 20 years prior. Both even featured a lead character who's an alcoholic and had overlying themes of DoingItForTheArt.

* LameExcuse: Walter pretends to have pulled his shoulder while picking up a paintbrush in order to get out of painting in court.

* GlamorousSingleMother: Averted. Margaret is extremely concerned about providing for her daughter by herself. Her first ex-husband uses the fact that she is a single mother to try and take custody of Jane, and Margaret has to marry Walter to avoid this. During the trial, Margaret admits that a big part of the reason Margaret stayed with Walter as long as she did is that she didn't think she could provide for herself and Jane on her own.

* WindowsOfTheSoul: Margaret explains that a combination of this and hearing loss she had in her childhood are the reasons why she paints the way she does.

* IKnewIt: Margaret's best friend Dee-Ann, after reding the truth about the paintings in the paper.r