An Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance

Rating: 10/10 (27 February 2015)

The movie birdman is the story of Riggan, a washed up movie star who used to play an idolized super hero and is now attempting to put on a Broadway play in order to prove to himself that he is indeed and an actor and still relevant. Throughout the movie, Riggan struggles with himself whether or not to continue with his play, or sellout and go back to his Birdman movies. Riggan has to fight through the many naysayers,the New York Times, critics, and even his daughter, played by Emma Stone, who say he is only doing this play to stay relevant. Through all these struggles, Riggan, played by Michael Keaton, pushes on with his play. Supporting actors include Edward Norton who plays his difficult and primadonna costar, Naomi Watts an aspiring actor, and Zach Galifianakis his best friend and agent.
All of the actors deliver completely on the play, giving the most impressive performances of their career. Aside from their performances, the most impressive part of the movie is the length of the cuts. The actors will go on for ten, twenty, thirty minutes, of dialogue before a scene ends. The camera maneuvers through narrow hallways, and follows the actors from scene to scene and impressively so. Director Alejandro González Iñárritu really comes through and gets the most out of his star studded cast. This movie is by far the most impressive film this year has to offer.