"So we see Edward as a young man on the road and he meets a giant and he brings the giant to a circus where he meets a Miss Calloway. He sees the woman of his dreams and I am the only one who knows who she is"
About this Quote
DeVito’s line plays like a backstage whisper masquerading as plot summary: a young man meets a giant, escorts him to a circus, and falls for Miss Calloway. The story sounds outsized on purpose, a carnival of archetypes. Then he slips in the real hook: “I am the only one who knows who she is.” That pivot turns spectacle into intimacy, and it’s where the intent lives.
As an actor and director who’s spent a career making audiences root for oddballs, DeVito understands the emotional economics of the tall tale. Giants and circuses aren’t there to be believed; they’re there to give permission for feeling. The road suggests becoming, the giant suggests the burdens (or wonders) we haul around, the circus suggests performance - the social contract where everyone agrees to be amazed. Miss Calloway, “the woman of his dreams,” is less a person than a projection screen. The line doesn’t romanticize that; it exposes it.
“I’m the only one who knows” is a power move and a confession. It frames knowledge as possession, hinting at the storyteller’s authority: the person behind the curtain controls the meaning of the dream. In context (DeVito speaking about a film steeped in mythmaking, like Big Fish), it’s a meta-nod to how narratives work: the audience gets the pageant, but someone - writer, director, witness - guards the private truth. The subtext is tender and slightly menacing: love, memory, and identity are all stories, and the most important parts are often hoarded by the one doing the telling.
As an actor and director who’s spent a career making audiences root for oddballs, DeVito understands the emotional economics of the tall tale. Giants and circuses aren’t there to be believed; they’re there to give permission for feeling. The road suggests becoming, the giant suggests the burdens (or wonders) we haul around, the circus suggests performance - the social contract where everyone agrees to be amazed. Miss Calloway, “the woman of his dreams,” is less a person than a projection screen. The line doesn’t romanticize that; it exposes it.
“I’m the only one who knows” is a power move and a confession. It frames knowledge as possession, hinting at the storyteller’s authority: the person behind the curtain controls the meaning of the dream. In context (DeVito speaking about a film steeped in mythmaking, like Big Fish), it’s a meta-nod to how narratives work: the audience gets the pageant, but someone - writer, director, witness - guards the private truth. The subtext is tender and slightly menacing: love, memory, and identity are all stories, and the most important parts are often hoarded by the one doing the telling.
Quote Details
| Topic | Movie |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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