Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. Genre: dark comedy/dramedy
Starring: Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Edward Norton, Zach Galifianakis, Amy Ryan
Distributed by: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Release Date: October 17, 2014
My Rating: 9.5/10
Since it just won the Academy Award for Best Picture (and Best Director), and was without a doubt my favorite movie out of all the films nominated for Best Picture that I've had the opportunity to see, I figured I would write my own personal take on this brilliant film.
The film tells the story of Riggan Thomson (Keaton), a washed-up screen actor who was formerly known for playing the iconic superhero Birdman three times many years prior. Now, in an attempt to revamp his career and hopefully garner more respect and prestige as an actor, Thomson decides to mount a Broadway adaptation of Raymond Carver's short story "What We Talk About When We Talk about Love."
In the process of directing and acting in this stage production, Thomson finds himself wrestling with multiple people, problems, and inner demons: his daughter and personal assistant (Stone) who has recently been released from rehab, his ex-wife (Ryan), his girlfriend, a famous and narcissistic Broadway Actor (Norton) who joins the cast of his play after his lead actor is hit by a light, and very skeptical critics (and one female critic in particular whom he meets in person and who mocks him). Thomson's greatest battle throughout the story, however, appears to be with himself, and more specifically with his own ego.
Birdman is an exceptional film, not only because of the story itself, but because of the camerawork and overall cinematography (which won cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki the Oscar this year). The incredibly long, continuous takes that seem to follow the actors in one sweeping motion wherever they go (backstage, on the stage, on the streets of New York City, etc.) almost make the film itself seem as if it was shot in a single, equally continuous take. This type of camerawork could be dizzying to some, but it certainly adds to the story by making the audience feel as if we are in the film and part of the story, right beside the characters. The lighting (or lack thereof) in certain scenes is also very well chosen, and helps to emphasize certain lighter or darker moments in the story. There are also a number of very close shots (close-ups), especially of Keaton, that reveal every inch of the actors' faces in a way that accentuates their expressions and emotions that is very visceral.
As for the story itself, the script is beautifully written, (as evidenced by its Oscar win for Best Original Screenplay) and it intertwines comedy and drama in a brilliant way. Michael Keaton may not have won the Oscar for Best Actor, but he certainly delivers an incredible performance as a former blockbuster movie star who is simply attempting to, as his own daughter so eloquently puts it, "feel relevant again," by managing the stage adaptation of this Raymond Carver story. (Carver is revealed to be one of Thomson's personal heroes, after the two met at the end of a play the latter did in his youth. Carver complimented Thomson on his performance and thus Thomson realized in that moment that he wanted to become an actor) Although we only get glimpses here and there of the actual play based on Carver's short story, it seems that the character that Thomson portrays in it is suffering from a personal crisis very similar to his own, ironically enough.
Edward Norton is amazing as Mike Shiner, the supposedly renown, sharp-tongued and egotistical Broadway actor who joins Thomson's production and who, due to his personality, creates problems for Thomson and the rest of the cast and crew. Norton plays a drama queen in such a funny way that I found it difficult not to laugh or even smile at the tone in which he delivered some of his lines, even if his character is despicable. My personal favorite: "Popularity is the slutty little cousin of prestige, my friend." Emma Stone has one scene in which she displays remarkable talent as an actress (when you see the film you'll realize which one I'm talking about), although besides this scene her character appears to be vastly underdeveloped and thus makes me question why she was nominated for an Oscar, even if she didn't win. Personally, Amy Ryan delivered a much more noteworthy performance as Keaton's ex-wife, even if she got less screen time than Stone. Her character makes her ex-husband realize certain things about himself, his career, and his relationship with her and the other people in his life.
Although it may also sound ridiculous at first, the voice-over of the Birdman character speaking to Thomson, egging him on to show the public what he's capable of, works in the sense that it very concretely demonstrates the inner battle that this protagonist is facing. It almost reminded me of other well-known fictional characters who struggle with this type of dual-personality/double-identity crisis. (Jekyll and Hyde, Smeagol and Gollum, etc.) However, one of the few aspects of the movie that I did not like, and that seemed too contrived and overdone, were the scenes in which Thomson is shown levitating, flying or doing any sort of fantastical, superhero-like action.
Birdman certainly tells a compelling story that probably reflects the career of many real, contemporary actors who were formerly known for playing iconic, superhuman characters and are now attempting to change the public's opinion of them, many years later in their career, by tackling entirely different types of roles that are "more human." The fact that Michael Keaton, who was famously known for playing Batman in the 1980s, was cast as the lead actor in this film, is no coincidence. If you're as big a cinephile as I am, you will appreciate almost every minute of this film. I may be biased because the director, Inarritu, is Mexican, but reviews and award shows say enough: Birdman soars high and swoops in to deliver a very entertaining story. Plus, let's face it, watching Michael Keaton parade through the streets of Time Square wearing nothing but his underwear (which Neil Patrick Harris so shamelessly recreated at the Oscars) is rather hilarious. Watching Keaton and Norton wrestling on the ground while also wearing very few clothes is even more hysterical. Or perhaps a little sad and pathetic to some. But mainly hilarious.
