Film of the year? Try film of the decade.

Rating: 10/10 (30 January 2015)

Birdman is such a powerful film with something to say that's worth saying which is rare these days. It satirises the slew of current Superhero/action films which are formulaic and say little and as Alan Parker rightly pointed out they are simply trying to compete with video games industry who have overtaken them.
Firstly on the film great casting. The film had to be Michael Keaton as the lead or it just wouldn't work - shame on us all for forgetting what a masterful actor he is. Naomi Watts whom I hadn't seen acting before also puts in a stellar performance. Norton was a mixture of all things comedy and tragedy and I liked the way he drifted out of the film with no real explanation – typically he would be 'fitted into a box' i.e. he learns something and changes or redeems himself - I'd like to think he' still a bit of an ass - but now takes a breath before he reacts. Emma Stone played her part pitch perfect.
The scenes that moved me the most were when he completely trashes the room - it really summed up how it feels someday when you have a mental health problem and brought a tear to my eye. Similarly when he wakes up with a hangover and walks down the street and his inner voice Birdman is castigating him and then he flies off in a dream like state - again I had a lump in my throat as its the scolding of that inner voice that rings true and that innate desire of wanting to free yourself from it was so delicate portrayed and beautiful.
Although questions arise about how biographical it is on Keaton's own life, I can't help thinking there are some parallels of course but not loads. I loved the way he jumped off the building giving a nod to him in His Batman heyday using the same fall with his coat acting as a cloak – a subtle nudge.
The deeper theme behind the film for me was one of loss. What it is like to be forgotten as a line in the play says 'I don't exist anymore'. Riggan wants' to exist. He wants' to be alive again – having his old life back as Birdman won't satisfy him, he wants to bigger and bolder than before and wants' to make a statement to the world.
Sure his ego is at play at here, but isn't that just human nature? When we hit rock bottom we want to show people that we are doing better than before now – and in fact are doing better than them. That brings a certain amount of satisfaction.
Although he is not a likable character as such and he has failings like any human – he doesn't as his alter ego says want to end up as an answer on a Trivial Pursuit question. He wants' to be admired, revered, respected, popular – who doesn't?
Thus sadly I don't think he ever can be and indeed ever does as he is too flawed to redeem himself – in short he is too far down the line. The ending given wants' to imply that all is well his ex respects him, his daughter loves him, the critics and the public adore him – again a ruse and an attack on Hollywood and their happy endings where everything is put in a box to satisfy test audiences. I guess the clue is that for such a schizophrenic film it does not deserve such an ending - and nor would it make sense. So I think the director is just toying with us here! Instead I believe Riggan killed himself when he tried to drown himself and the whole film is him imagining his life as wished it to be as he slowly drowns - perhaps that is the significance of the Jellyfish, his wife appearing from nowhere always wearing black. She isn't real – none of it is perhaps.
However, I would counter that by saying the ending is what you want it to mean. I think what is more important is what Riggan/Birdman are portraying about man and his struggle to be relevant as he gets older, and man with inherent flaws. The film has resonance - it has resonance in all our lives in some context if you look deep enough – I recommend watching it twice.
In sum, this film should sweep up at the Oscars and deservedly so ahead of Grand Budapest Hotel which is a completely different genre. The director goes to show that if people are prepared to back you when you take risks the possibilities are endless. Not one single actor in Hollywood would now turn down the opportunity to work with this director.
As for the reviews with 1 star that is a joke – its obvious it was never going to be your kind of film as you probably watched the trailer and thought it was some kind of Superhero film!