Theatre is the epiphany of life

Rating: 10/10 (5 April 2015)

BIRDMAN is a brilliant metaphor about life tittering between tragedy and comedy where our validation of existence is played out on stage as a spectator sport. There is a little bit of Riggan Thomson in all of us as we maneuver between perceived greatness and self-doubt. This self-doubt is constantly looking for endorsement from the public for confirmation. Like Riggan too who had to strut down Time Square in his undies, we have to meet our curve balls in life with a brave face just so we can get back onto life's stage to continue with our parts. As the character Mike Shiner said, the only real moments for him are those on stage. In this movie, the stage is the epiphany of life . The movie intertwines between what is real and what is even more real brilliantly with a mastery help from a camera that seamlessly blends the two levels of reality together into a magical continuous shot. That execution of inseparability is a stroke of metaphorical genius. The finale is of course with Riggan playing his part out with a real gun, this perfect union of stage acting and reality wins him back the affirmation of greatness from Tabitha, the theatre critic for the New York Times who initially denied him recognition for she thinks as a Hollywood star, he can never be real enough for theatre.