I get that it's clever and arty, and I still didn't like it.

Rating: 4/10 (27 January 2015)

As someone who typically appreciates unusual films, I find it hard to go against the flow of excellent reviews Birdman has received.
However, I just did not enjoy the experience of watching this film. I found the pace slow, the characters unsympathetic (with the exception of Emma Stone as daughter Sam), the setting claustrophobic and the combination of the camera-work and the drumming on the soundtrack intensely irritating.
As often happens, the trailer was misleading and I had the impression I was going to see a quirky black comedy. Quirky it was, but not in the way I had expected, and while there were a couple of moments that I found a bit funny (Keaton doing a bird squawk), overall it felt relentlessly depressing and narcissistic.
The acting was good. I did find it interesting that it was one continuous shot. I like that a lot of thought and effort had gone into the film. I actually liked the ending. I just disliked the overall feel of the film, as an experience.
I can sympathise with the people who said they left the cinema before the end.