Birdman-2014

Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu

Starring Michael Keaton

Scott’s Review #190

Reviewed November 6, 2014

Grade: A

Birdman (2014) is a unique art film that, happily, has garnered major exposure and publicity because a movie like this risks receiving praise and notice only from the art-house crowd.

The film’s star, Michael Keaton, portrays Riggan Thomson, a former action-hero superstar from the 1990s, made famous for the “Birdman” character he created.

Having made sequels to the film, his career has since dried up, and he hopes to establish credibility and prove himself a real actor by writing, directing, and starring in his play.

The film is set in and around the Broadway theater in New York City.

As opening night approaches, he struggles to pull everything together and mount a successful production while dealing with an injured, terrible actor; a difficult actor; his insecurities; and a miserable theatre critic destined to ruin his big chance.

To make matters worse, his daughter Sam, played by Emma Stone, is a recovering drug addict who hangs around the theatre distracting actors with her charm and good looks.

Naomi Watts and Edward Norton play Leslie and Mike, other cast members in the production. Watts is sympathetic as the emotional actress with a heart of gold who finally realizes her dream of performing on Broadway.

Norton, outstanding as Mike, is blunt yet socially awkward and can only perform truthfully on stage.

Keaton is a marvel as he plays a dark, vulnerable man. He hates and wants to shed his ridiculous movie persona of yesteryear and secretly cringes when fans recognize him.

He uses a voice in his head when he played “Birdman” years earlier.

The film’s uniqueness lies in what seems like one long take, as the action rarely stops.

The film belongs to Keaton, who wonderfully relays vulnerability, pain, and fear within an outward persona of bravery and masculinity.

Throughout the film I wondered, is Riggan suicidal? What is real and what is imagined? Are certain scenes foreshadowing later events?

The film has much depth.

One marvels at how art imitates life: is Keaton portraying himself? He was the original Batman in the successful superhero franchise beginning in 1989, and his career tanked shortly after.

Birdman is a comeback film for him, and he is devastatingly good.

Norton’s character Mike impressed me. He is blunt, flawed, scared, and addicted to the stage.

Stone has one particularly brilliant scene where she lambasts her father and later, with regret, tells him the world has moved on without him and that he is irrelevant, like everyone else. It is a powerful scene.

In another, Riggan is locked outside the theater during the performance, clad only in his underwear. How on earth will he get back on stage and finish the show?

The quick jabs at current Hollywood superhero stars, especially Robert Downey Jr., are deliciously naughty.

It is impossible to predict what comes next, and the film feels very New York theater-style.

Keaton’s run-in with a theater critic in a cocktail bar is the best scene in the film, as the critic’s vicious critique of “You’re a celebrity, not an actor” resonates with both pain and tremendous anger for Riggan.

Riggan is a sensitive, struggling man, and Keaton shows his vulnerability beautifully in every scene.

Oscar Nominations: 4 wins-Best Picture (won), Best Director-Alejandro G. Iñárritu (won), Best Actor-Michael Keaton, Best Supporting Actor-Edward Norton, Best Supporting Actress-Emma Stone, Best Original Screenplay (won), Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Cinematography (won)

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 3 wins-Best Feature (won), Best Director-Alejandro G. Inarritu, Best Male Lead-Michael Keaton (won), Best Supporting Male-Edward Norton, Best Supporting Female-Emma Stone, Best Cinematography (won)