Clever, enterprising and ambitious.

Rating: 7/10 (17 January 2015)

Going head to head with Boyhood for the Best Picture Oscar, this quirky meta-dramedy about a washed-up movie star attempting redemption on Broadway has generated much applause from critics around the world. It's not hard to see why, what with director Alejandro González Iñárritu's ambitious technical achievements, the razor sharp satirical screenplay and a bunch of soul-bearing performances. Presenting the story as one long continuous take, Iñárritu employs all the tricks of the trade in search of something unique and it largely pays off; his ever-flowing camera segues between scenes creating a dreamlike atmosphere. Finding where the shots have been joined, however, can at times distract from the emotional journey crafted by Iñárritu and his team of writers, in a script full of dark humour and irony. Unfortunately there's also a hint of pretension and self-satisfaction in Iñárritu's work – intentional and otherwise – that comes across as smug and, therefore, annoying. As Riggan Thomson, the former A-lister seeking professional rejuvenation on the stage, Michael Keaton gets a long- awaited opportunity to shine in a lead role and attacks it, for better and worse, with unbridled gusto. Ed Norton hogs the spotlight though, with a comedic turn as a supercilious stage actor looking for the "truth" in even the tiniest of things, whilst Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, Zach Galifianakis, Andrea Riseborough and Amy Ryan round out the impressive cast. Birdman is clever, enterprising and admirably distinct, if occasionally laborious and inaccessible; it's not for everyone, but lovers of film and/or theatre should seek it out.