"Birdman (Or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" asks brilliant questions, teaches fantastic lessons and brings a new style of cinema to the fore.

Rating: 10/10 (8 January 2015)

"Birdman (Or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" is a simply excellent film. Why? There is a scene in "Birdman" where Riggan Thompson (played by Michael Keaton), who is trying to direct and star in his Broadway adaptation of the Raymond Carver play "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love", walks towards the front of the stage and talks about love, what it is to be loved, and how we all crave that. But is it love we crave? Or, as Sam (played by Emma Stone) puts it, is Riggan confusing love with admiration? These are some of the many wide-ranging questions that "Birdman" leaves you with as you leave the cinema and you thus don't really realise how good the cast, direction, dialogue and score are until you've given up on those questions, realising that they are just too difficult to answer.
The cast is simply stellar in "Birdman", brilliantly led by Michael Keaton in what Variety's Peter Debruge calls the "comeback of the century" and which I agree with him over. However, I'm not sure if Michael Keaton would accept this title, in a recent interview promoting the film he laughed at the concept, yet the comparisons between his career and that of Riggans are unavoidable, he also laughed when this was bought up too. But, to be fair, all I knew of Michael Keaton before I saw "Birdman" was that he had starred in the 1989 "Batman" film as well as in its 1992 sequel "Batman Returns". His career hasn't been stellar and it's a surprise I even knew his name before I saw "Birdman" really But his performance in this film deserves all the attention he gets and all the awards he is being nominated for. Riggan is a complex character and you are never quite sure about him, how he feeling and how he feels towards others, not only because of how Riggan changes as the film goes on but also because of how that reflects the ever-changing nature of the film, moving from one question or theme to the other without actually leaving it behind, instead leaving it in the back of your mind for you to think about later.
Again, as I said earlier, the rest of the cast is great too. Edward Norton is brilliant (playing the self-obsessed, ego-driven actor who feels more real on the stage than off it, Mike Shiner). But then Miles is so much more than that and again it's hard to put your finger on what or who he is and what he is looking for. Zach Galifanakis (playing Riggan's agent, Jake) who is trying to keep Riggan grounded, is also brilliant and then so is Emma Stone and Naomi Watts (although both seem to be in very familiar roles). I could go on listing actors and actresses but it would just be a paragraph of names. (Last one I promise but Amy Ryan also does well playing Riggan's ex-wife Slyvia.)
But each of these is alleviated, and should thanking him in any of their Oscars speeches, by the film's director, Alejandro González Iñárritu. Alejandro hasn't done many English-Language films before (except Babel in 2006 and 21 Grams in 2003), and considering that, it makes his direction in "Birdman" even more outstanding. Where he really excels is in how "Birdman" is seemingly filmed in one take. These really emphasise how good the acting is in this film, be it a monologue by Emma Stone as she rants at her dad, a take that involves Michael Keaton walking in just his underpants through Times Square, or a scene where Keaton and Edward Norton rehearse on stage. What makes these one takes even better is how the film is almost entirely set in St. James Theatre and you really get a feel for it as you glide around it in these one takes, feeling, seeing and hearing everything that is going on. It truly is an experience. I loved every moment of it and what this ultimately did for me was make me feel like I was part of the production, as if I was being given this behind the scenes look at what was going on. This thrill inspired me to get back into acting, something that I used to do a lot of. What happens with this you as the film goes on, you begin to realise that this is less of a trip to the cinema and more of a trip to the theatre. It's a good mix of both and I can't really imagine it being the same on DVD, although it never is. I will definitely be seeing it again.
Birdman's dialogue is great too and it matches the fast-paced score of "Birdman". Both reflect how unique "Birdman" is and that is where its brilliance lies. Just like how when you are in a production and the curtains come down on closing night you come to think that you really did not want that to end, and I had the same feeling when "Birdman" did. Its cast, score and direction are all what will be directly nominated come the Oscars, but there is no specific award for the questions "Birdman" made me think about, the way "Birdman" made me feel and the lessons "Birdman" taught me.