For the literary types (spoiler alert)

Rating: 9/10 (30 April 2015)

If you were expecting a mind-numbing Hollywood comedy, you are sure to be disappointed. But if you are a bit more the intelligent/literary/artistic type, I think you will find a lot to this film, from parody to metafiction. The dialog is fast and sharp, the characters edgy, and the story is richly layered; reality mixes with the surreal, the textured relationship between the play, based on a Raymond Carver story that explores the meaning of love, and Riggan's' own insecurities and failures as a husband and father, succeed in capturing the frailty of the human condition and the value we place on success. The film asks the questions, does any of this mean anything? Are we special and unique, or just fooling ourselves? What defines who we are-- popularity from a deceased career, some deeper artistic ambition, or our relationships? When Riggan flies out the window at the end, what sends him upward? The review of the play (which didn't seem to move him), the constant reminder of his long lost Birdman identity, or that his daughter brought flowers (this time out of love rather than a failed chore done at Riggan's insistence)?