Birdman. 2014
Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu
Starring Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Zach Galifianakis, Emma Stone, Amy Ryan, Andrea Riseborough and Naomi Watts
SYNOPSIS:
A washed-up actor who once played an iconic superhero must overcome his ego and family trouble as he mounts a Broadway play in a bid to reclaim his past glory.
There might not be a more meta film in existence than Alejandro González Iñárritu’s latest film Birdman. There is the obvious selling point of the film in that Michael Keaton – famous in real life for portraying Batman yet recently finding himself accepting a load of crappy projects – playing Riggan Thomson, a washed up Hollywood actor that society most associates with Birdman, but the mimicking of reality actually goes even further down the rabbit hole. Edward Norton’s Broadway performance art actor character Mike is a total prick to everyone on-set, and if you go do some digging on the filming process of some Edward Norton films, you will find that he isn’t exactly the most pleasant person to work with. In other words, both Keaton and Norton deserve major applause for being able to commit to and successfully tackle such self-deprecating roles.
While watching Birdman though, it quickly becomes apparent that Iñárritu isn’t solely here to cast Keaton in an acting comeback role with highly probable Oscar chances, or playfully poke fun at the fact that Edward Norton is a frustrating talent to work with; he’s here to deliver relentless and scathing commentary on acting, Hollywood, society’s obsession with mindless action and superhero movies, the seeming death of performance art, journalism, and essentially, the entire structure of movie-making in the current generation.
Thankfully, none of this comes across as too pretentious or self-righteous, as it is also weaved around a plethora of interesting characters and a darkly comedic narratives regarding Riggan battling his delusions and ego, while simultaneously trying to win his family back. There’s just one problem; he has a deep and intimidating voice in his head antagonizing him, Birdman. Furthermore, Birdman‘s gravel filled voice that makes him sound like he smokes ten packs of cigarette a day, the aesthetics and design of his costume, and his unwavering dedication to bringing Riggan to the dark-side are superbly crafted. The scenes depicting Riggan battling a voice in his head with absolutely brilliant cinematic touches, like having Riggan telepathically able to manipulate objects and toss them across the room make for riveting stuff.
Iñárritu is of course a genius of a director, but a hell of a lot of this wouldn’t have been possible without last year’s Oscar winning cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (Gravity) who has delicately and astoundingly composed a film that is quite literally one take. There are no traditional cuts in Birdman – they exist but they’re implemented into the film digitally – meaning that you will see a lot of tracking shots, swiveling of the camera around rooms, and lots of panning up and down or across streets. If there is ever a shift in the time of day, the movie freezes over an outdoor area as we gradually see day turn into nighttime, or vice versa. If Emmanuel Lubezki doesn’t win the Oscar for cinematography it will be because the Academy didn’t feel like rewarding him with the prestigious prize two consecutive years in a row. Birdman is freaking mind-blowing from a cinematography standpoint, and will actually occasionally leave your unable to focus on the film because you’re mesmerized at what you’re seeing.
The supporting cast of characters are also highly entertaining and utterly hilarious, but outside of Norton’s character, they are somewhat forgettable and not as relevant to the story as it feels they should be. Riggan’s daughter (Emma Stone) is a recovering drug addict but it’s hard to really care because it never feels serious or emphasized as much as Riggan’s story, or even Mike’s. Speaking of Mike, he also has a love interest that is also a fairly forgettable character. What I will say is that even though these characters don’t feel as important, Emma Stone and everyone else give amazing supporting performances, and their scenes are entertaining in the moment. It’s just that the definition of their characters and struggle gets a little lost in the chaos of watching Riggan chaotically put his play together.
On the other side of the token, there is A LOT going on in Birdman; definitely to the point where it will be worth it to watch the film multiple times to pick up on new things and understand all the meta craziness even more. The ending is also ambiguous and can be interpreted multiple ways, but I’m also betting that it comes across as even more thought-provoking and debatable if you put more time into studying the film.
Finally, I just want to mention that the scene where Birdman physically appears on screen for the first time is one of the greatest scenes I have ever seen in a film purely for the unapologetic and flat-out f*** you to anyone who can’t handle movies that present philosophical narratives and deeper meanings over blowing s*** up for two hours. There is one specific line in particular that will describe anyone that goes into Birdman expecting a traditional superhero movie or a blockbuster film. I was nearly in tears laughing.
All in all, Birdman is everything we thought it would be; it breaks the scales for meta commentary on the current state of Hollywood and acting, it has phenomenal performances across the board, and it carries a frenetic pace that ensures there is never a dull moment in the film. Comeback successful!
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder – An aficionado of film, wrestling, and gaming. He currently writes for Flickering Myth, We Got This Covered, and Wrestle Enigma. Follow me on Twitter.
You can listen to the Flickering Myth Podcast review of Birdman using the player below:
