Birdman Review

Birdman was one of the real word-of-mouth hits from 2014, and I was really looking forward to getting a chance to see it. I did, and I can't say I was disappointed. Dazed, perhaps, but not disappointed. This film captured my mind and my attention and held it firmly for its entire running time, and has been lingering ever since the credits rolled. That's a testament to just how intricately crafted and layered Birdman is. It gave me plenty to think about while I was watching it, and I'm still thinking about it over a day later.

Alejandro González Iñárritu's stellar black comedy is about an actor who starred in a hugely popular comic book film trilogy back in the 80's and 90's and has since fallen off the map almost completely. He's attempting a comeback on the stage - adapting, directing, and starring in a Broadway play.

But Birdman is about so much more than just that. It brings up an innumerable amount of thought-provoking and resonant themes, from the relationship between a father and daughter to the state of big Hollywood blockbusters today. And not only does it have an impressive quantity of these themes, the quality is superb as well. The screenplay is richly written and you can clearly tell a lot of work was put into it. That can be said about pretty much all aspects of this movie.

All the actors in this movie give some of the best performances of their respective careers. Michael Keaton plays the aforementioned actor who used to play the title character on the big screen but has since lost his way a little bit. A big part of his character arc is finding his place and purpose in the world and Keaton gives a masterful, fully Oscar-worthy performance. In many ways, Keaton's own life mirrors that of his character, which just added a little something to the movie for me.

Edward Norton is also fantastic in his role as a prestigious actor that is brought on to be in the play a day before previews begin. At first he may seem like a cliched and shallow "high-end" actor, but you quickly find out that he, too, is a human being.

Some other brief shout-outs go to Zach Galifianakis, Emma Stone, and Naomi Watts who are all in top form. I think Galifianakis may have gotten jipped out of a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Perhaps it's because he was doing something completely different from what he usually does, but I thought he showed a new side of himself that I hope gives him more serious roles in the future.

By now, I'm sure everyone knows the film's secret. It's filmed to look as if it is all one continuous tracking shot. I'll be honest in saying that I was very skeptical of this technique, even after I heard the film receiving so much praise. I was expecting to be tired of it by the end of the first act, if even that far into the film. I'm pleased to admit that I was totally wrong. Iñárritu's method of filming is so immersive and flows so swiftly, that I felt as if I was watching a Broadway production. And I mean that in the best possible way. Do I want all movies to use this technique now? Absolutely not. It fits Birdman's tone quite nicely, but I can imagine other film's collapsing because of it.

If there was one thing that bothered me about this movie, it felt a little too odd at times. I understand that that's what they were going for, and most of the time it is very effective. However, there was a short patch of time toward the end of the second act that got weird to the point that it took me out of the movie. I appreciate what the film was going for with its surreal, psychological atmosphere, and as I said, it worked most of the time. At this point in the movie, I thought it just got weird for the sake of being weird, which wasn't necessary.

Birdman pretty much fulfilled all the expectations I had for it going in. It might not be a perfect film, but it is an incredibly remarkable one, one that will act as a cinematic landmark for this time period, I'm sure. It isn't pretentious, elitist Oscar-bait without substance or meaning. Not at all. I've heard some people call it these things, which really confuses me. Did they watch the movie? To me, Birdman is the exact opposite of this, a warning against such approaches to film or art.

This is a soulful, contemplative, and utterly unpredictable movie that sets its layered and complex characters on a thrillingly ambitious stage in wholly original fashion. One of 2014's best films, and sure to become a classic in the future. I've restrained from giving too much about it away. Experiencing this movie without too much knowledge of it other than its basic plot and cast did wonders for me. A definite must-see.

A