A thing is a thing. Not what is said of that thing.

Rating: 6/10 (16 April 2015)

The climax says it all. All along he was rejecting his real personality. His real personality is he became the very character that he was playing - Bird man.
He never acknowledges that fact even though he has the power to move objects, float, defy gravity etc, he was considering them all to be his illusions.
He thought himself to be an ordinary person that was the actual illusion. So his alter ego was nagging him to accept what he truly is. But he was more interested in getting recognized himself as an actor not a mere celebrity or entertainer.
And finally towards the end he is recognized by everyone as a great actor. Thus his wish fulfilled, realization dawns on him.
In the climax scene his alter ego is relieving himself, meaning he is no more interested in nagging him, because its not required, he has no further pursuit, what he had been contemplating all these years was achieved.
Now he has no other choice but to face the fact.
When he opens the window he feels the breeze, that is what you will feel when you are high above the ground and he sees birds in the sky and instantly recognizes is true personality and he climbs on the ledge ready to fly, ready to be himself.
His daughter enters the room and seeing the open window for a moment she thinks her father had attempted another suicide but seeing nothing on the ground she instinctively turns her focus on the sky, she is shocked and then she smiles, now she too knows who her father truly is.
Not an actor nor an entertainer. But Bird man.
The unexpected virtue of ignorance.
A thing is a thing Not what is said of that thing.
He labels himself as an ordinary person wanting to be recognized as an actor. Ignoring his essential nature but running after a label. Finally he ignores the label and accepts what he truly is.
About the direction, nice attempt to creates continuous sequence, like a flow of thought, that is most certainly a tough job. Not much of scope for acting, but Michael Keaton has done his best. Rest of them didn't over do, they simply played along.
The story is great, but very poorly expressed on screen. It could have been done better and climax could have been a big punch.
The climax only creates confusion for so many viewers, not everyone is a philosopher, not everyone can understand what a thing truly is.
Kung Fu Hustle - This is way to express philosophy on screen. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer - The climax is a knockout punch, seeking one's true nature, he becomes that.