A classic example of great film making

Rating: 9/10 (5 November 2015)

In the movie Birdman, one man attempts to take a stab at a risky Broadway production in hope that it will reinvigorate his career. The movie follows washed up cinema superhero Riggan Thomson as he faces the negative spontaneity in Broadway, the voice of his alter- ego, and his family as he finds his way through the inner workings of Broadway. This film tackles themes that compare Hollywood to Broadway, the filmmaking and camera-work used has effects on the way the audience views the film, and the duality between Riggan and his alter-ego showcases his inner battle with himself.
Hollywood and Broadway, two separate entities with similar characteristics. In the film, Riggan is seen as more of a Hollywood actor due to his past role as Birdman in the popular Hollywood film. This poses difficulties for him to break into the world of Broadway since he's nothing more than a washed-up actor. On the other hand, Mike Shiner is a Broadway actor who made his fortune through theater and is the star pupil in Riggan's production. Due to Riggan and Mike both having different backgrounds when it comes to acting, they often display opposing viewpoints which allows the audience to differentiate between both worlds of acting. In one scene a fan approaches both Riggan and Mike and asks Mike to take a picture of her and Riggan, not knowing who Mike was. In a later scene Mike successfully defends Riggan's artistic ability to Tabitha, the theater critic who will review Riggan's play, since she doesn't consider Riggan to be an actor. This shows how being in Hollywood actor might come with a lot of fame and recognition, but being a Broadway actor allows you to have more credibility as actor. Another example of the clashing viewpoints between Broadway and Hollywood was in the beginning of the movie. Riggan's biggest critic claims that he is nothing but a Hollywood celebrity and will never be close to becoming a "real" actor in the world of Broadway. Later on in the film Riggan is confronted by his daughter who tells him, "You are doing a play based on a book that was written 60 years ago, for a thousand rich old white people, whose only real concern is going to be where they can go to have their cake and coffee when it's over." The first viewpoint shows how in the world of Broadway, Hollywood actors are just mere celebrities who have nothing close to the real acting talent possessed by Broadway actors. The second viewpoint explains how Broadway is more lackluster and boring when in comparison to Hollywood.
The film making and camera work made it appear as if the movie was one continuous shot. There were less than 3 cuts in the entire film and each cut would be disguised by visual effects the stitch together the seamlessness of the film. Having this long and drawn out way of viewing the movie makes it difficult to understand the reality that Riggan faces. The audience is never certain whether the scene there watching is real, or just another aside between Riggan and the figment of his imagination. Since most of the film took place backstage, using wide lenses allowed for scenes with close-ups to feel more memorable to due to the intimate images and small setting. Color's like green, red and blue were the predominant colors in parts of the movie, this is because all three are strong colors that enhance the drama and emotion in the film. Red and green were particularly used on stage during Broadway performances, while bright colors and a lot of artificial lighting was used to expose the true life of Time Square and New York in general.
Throughout the film, Riggan has to face the realities of existence and identity. He faces an inner conflict between him and the voice inside of him. The voices he hears is of Birdman, the superhero character that he was known for throughout his Hollywood career. The voice of Birdman would always cloud Riggan's judgment, insult him on his failure and mock him in all aspects of his life. The negativity of the voice in his head has driven Riggan to madness at times. Although Riggan has the clear intention to further his career by creating his own play, the voice in his head would always attempt to steer him away from his main goal. The voice of Birdman would always question Riggan's new career choice and would try and persuade him to go back into the movie industry and make another Birdman film. This shows how the voice of Birdman represents the past with respect to Riggans career. It represents the Hollywood side of Riggan that will always stay with him, even if he takes his career towards another direction.
The cinematography and the themes involved in the film Birdman show why the film won an Academy Award for Best Picture. The camera work and filmmaking throughout the movie made it so that the viewers felt more connected to Riggan and the rest of the characters in a particular scene. The subject of having clashing viewpoints between Broadway and Hollywood showed how both worlds of American entertainment differ from one another. The audience was also able to see the conflict between reality vs perception in the mind of Riggan as he battles his inner superhero from the past. All in all, Birdman was a unique film with an original plot that concentrated more on acting and drama rather than action and violence that movies nowadays focus on.