Welcome Back, Michael Keaton

Rating: 9/10 (12 May 2015)

Birdman is definitely not the sort of movie for a person who can't stand art house style movies, because it has major elements of that...but I recommend that you get past those reservations, if you have them, because this is a fantastic movie. The story is a truly fascinating exploration into the life of an actor struggling desperately to regain some sort or relevance on the stage after having a film career compressed down to the point of only being remembered for a superhero role he had years before...all of this in the middle of a nervous breakdown that he is barely containing. It absolutely does not neglect the people around him though, spending an equal amount of time on the other characters in the movie. Michael Keaton is the only actor who could have brought this sort of authenticity to the role, what with his portrayal of Batman being the most memorable role of his career aside from perhaps Beetlejuice or Mr. Mom (Depending on how old you are). The whole cast is amazing though, especially Edward Norton, in a truly meta experience as he is doing an amazing job of overshadowing Keaton in the lead role both in the movie itself and the stage performance within the movie (albeit in a more intentional, malicious sense in the latter). Zach Galifianakis playing the straight man (and arguably the most reasonable and sensible individual throughout the whole movie) was a peculiar choice, but it worked out unbelievably well. I should have watched this a couple of weeks ago. If I had known I would like it this much, I would have.