A Review of Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance, 2014)
A film by Alejandro Gonzales Iñárritu
The nature of show business is not unlike the jungle - where the Darwinian principle of survival prevails. Without the spotlight, actors and actresses simply fade away. Birman is a film about the industry, and the people struggling in it. It's the story of a man struggling with his own faded success, and overcoming it to become something new.
Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) is a washed up actor, best known for a number of superhero films in the past. His past success now haunts him: he can't escape from it; his angst springs from this very fact, and he is tormented by this past (either by imagining fantastical sequences or by a personification of his Birdman self). In response, he tries in desperation to legitimise himself as an actor by adapting, directing and starring in an adaptation of Raymond Carver's What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. He now has to deal with gaffes on stage and off, disgruntled actors seeking compensation, belligerent actors, critics with agendas, and his own insecurities. Will he pull it off? Or will he crash and burn?
The genius in Birdman lies not only in the story but also in the storytelling. Inarritu frames most of the film as one very long take winding from character to character, moment to moment. It's seamless and buoyed by outstanding camerawork from Emmanuel Lubezki, known for his cinematographic work on films like Gravity. It's a voyeuristic treatment, one that makes us play the role of an invisible companion, perhaps Birdman himself. This gives the film a sort of narrative flow that works really well. The soundtrack is an offbeat drum solo that spans most of the film, and it fits really well, giving the film a rhythm along with the flow.
The cast gives an exceptional performance, but props have to go to Michael Keaton. The similarities between his character and his own showbiz persona (he hasn't done much of note after Batman Returns) seem to have helped him tremendously with this role, because he knocks it out of the park.
The movie leaves us to make our own decisions at the end, and there have already been many interpretations of the ending and the movie as a whole. My personal interpretation is more optimistic: like a bird, soaring to greater heights. Birdman is a phenomenal achievement in filmmaking, and also a very entertaining film to boot.
The cast gives an exceptional performance, but props have to go to Michael Keaton. The similarities between his character and his own showbiz persona (he hasn't done much of note after Batman Returns) seem to have helped him tremendously with this role, because he knocks it out of the park.
The movie leaves us to make our own decisions at the end, and there have already been many interpretations of the ending and the movie as a whole. My personal interpretation is more optimistic: like a bird, soaring to greater heights. Birdman is a phenomenal achievement in filmmaking, and also a very entertaining film to boot.
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