Smart, sassy, subversive film-making, shot in a style that will take some getting used to

Rating: 9/10 (18 August 2015)

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) was famous, many years ago, for appearing as the comic book hero Birdman on the big screen, but is now trying to rehearse a Broadway play that is premiering in a few nights, only for one of the key actors in the play to fall ill during production. Replacing him is loose cannon actor Mike Shiner (Edward Norton), whose reckless style endangers the production and forces Riggan in to a self imposed mental deterioration, where he's forced to put all the things wrong in his life, including his fractured relationship with his daughter Sam (Emma Stone), into perspective. All the while, his former superhero alter ego mentally tears at him and tries to live through him again.
Given the onslaught of superhero movies we've found ourselves hit with in recent times, if nothing else Birdman turns the genre on it's head, presenting a hero served purely for the purposes of a unique story and not derived from any Marvel franchise. It's a completely surreal, off the wall and daring concept, that many might not warm to the first time. But it's undeniably the product of an intelligent, outside the box sort of mind, that also manages some sharp stabs at social satire, with pop culture references thrown in, by the way of mentioning hot, trendy young actors (including Jeremy Renner) who are very much at the forefront right now.
As if the concept wasn't high end in and of itself, director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu also attempts a unique filming style, shooting events from Riggan's exit from the stage in a continuous loop, following him from every encounter there on. This is a different style, and requires you to stick with it more than the traditional style of cutting to the next scene, but on the other hand also adds an air of realism you probably wouldn't have otherwise got. If you can just stick with it and warm to it, the film might do more for you. Keaton is well suited in the lead role, in a role rather semi-autobiographical at this stage of his career, given his notability of playing Batman in the 80s. In far lesser supporting roles, Norton also injects the energy only he can to his role, as does Zack Galifianakis as his agent. Accompanying it all throughout is a bouncy drum and bass soundtrack that keeps it all flowing.
The concept has worn out a little the end, and becomes a little tiresome, and could have done with maybe wrapping up a little earlier than it does, but it's taken you on such a unique and surprising ride to that point, that you can't really complain. ****