Please yourself first.

Rating: 8/10 (20 April 2015)

Fantastic dark comedy! Riggin Thomson(Michael Keaton)is a fading star most popular over twenty years ago as he played the cinematic superhero Birdman. And greatly disappointing what fans he had left when he turned down Birdman 4. Pretty much totally broke, divorced from his wife(Amy Ryan)and trying to salvage a dismal relationship with his estranged daughter Sam(Emma Stone); Riggin wants to re-invent himself with a comeback by way of a Broadway play. With very little of the super-powers of his former character, he struggles to rebuild a career as well as his life.
Thomson opts to write, direct and star in an adaptation of Raymond Carver's story "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love". During a rehearsal, one of his co-stars, who he cares little about, has an accident and needs to be replaced. Thomson has his best friend and lawyer, Jake(Zach Galiflanakis), hire at any cost acclaimed method actor Mike Shiner(Edward Norton)as the replacement. During the first preview performance Riggin realizes that Shiner is living up to his reputation of being an arrogant p^*ck. The two actors start playing off of each other and it seems the play takes on a different dimension...but for the better, or worse. Thomson knows he is in hock up to his ears; he is getting a strange vibe from co-star Lesley(Naomi Watts); fresh from rehab, Sam may have something going on with Shiner; and then there is an alter-ego following him around. This play has got to be a success.
Keaton may have gotten bam-boozeled at Oscar time; he is brilliant in this role. Miss Stone is so alluring and scene commanding; and that is a good thing. Norton is hilarious and at the top of his game. Others in the cast: Katherine O'Sullivan, Andrea Riseborough, Natalie Gold, Akira Ito, Jeremy Shamos and Damian Young.