Former superhero actor stages a comeback in entertainment by doing a Broadway show

Rating: 9/10 (2 February 2015)

From the trailer I already knew what Birdman had in store for me. And I was not surprised by the many writers of this film. It was way too complex for one writer to produce such an exceptionally well written screenplay.
Riggan Thomson has now become an irrelevant celebrity in entertainment who is haunted by his past - a fictional superhero character he used to portray in blockbuster movies which was disenfranchised more than 20 years ago.
Riggan only wants to revive his career but has to juggle between his drug addict daughter who's been in and out of rehab, his flopping career, the mother of his daughter, a acclaimed New York Time critic who is determined to bring him down, a master plan involving him successfully staging a comeback, a fictional character that torments him by relentlessly begging him to do another sequel of Birdman, and his much younger girlfriend whom he does not seem to love. The story also touches on current industry affairs which makes it even more relevant than it should be; where Riggan and his girlfriend Laura dreading parenthood because they think it would have resulted in them having an offspring like Justin Beiber. This was cute.
In the movie, Riggan still thinks he is Birdman (his alter ego) and hallucinates most of the time. He still thinks he has supernatural abilities to move or break objects without making physical contact with them. It would be wrong ignore the remarkable use of using one single/fluid/continuous/constant streaming/lingering shot in the movie which who make it less editable. But the shots where the screen goes dark at the bar or theater hallways those were actually the 'cuts' or 'edits' of the movie that just needed visual literacy to understand. They were nothing but a combination of extremely long takes that are seamlessly stitched together through editing trickery. Birdman will change how we look at cinema for good with this breakthrough visual style. It had complex steady cam/hand-held camera sweeping the maze-like setting and resting on pans and pauses. The shots had no joints whatsoever.
Michael gave a glorious performance both in the movie (as Riggan) and the character he played on stage.
It has been a delight to watch such a movie on the big screen. Most of the movie time does not stop as they employed the longest takes since Gravity starring Sandra Bullock. The camera work was unusual and previously unemployed by similar mainstream flicks.
Edward Norton was a great sidekick. He played a thespian who came in as a replacement, who was obsessed with realism over professionalism. Birdman was made to stand out and never to be too generic or too obvious. It studied the psychological profile and inside lives of it's characters. It is not a structured superhero vs villain typical movie, but about a once respected showman who wants to relive his glory days and get back the respect that used to fill his heart.
The drums/percussion/jazz played by the solo were deserving. They were special. The film has a deeper meaning than the eyes can explain. It draws the viewer into the lives of actors and their world. From the trailer one could easily see that it is not your typical superhero movie.
Michael Keaton gave a once in a lifetime, magnificent, heartbreaking, honest and sincere performance of his entire career. One that cannot be forgotten. The actors never missed any beats or paused for anybody. The dialogue was on fire, it has no defects or flaws even when it is accelerated by the actors. In reality Michael Keaton has three lives, one as the real Michael Keaton who was dumped by Hollywood, the other as Riggan Thomson who is working on a comeback in showbiz and the other as Birdman, a fictional and disenfranchised superhero who used to save human lives in blockbuster movies.
The most deep rooted scene was when Riggan lies to Mike (the replacement) about his father abusing him as a child. The part where he was wrestling a break down traumatic/excellent to watch.
I was looking for dull moments so I could blink or mind my drink but they were absent. I was mesmerized by the scale of unrelenting skill and talent used by all the actors in this film. There are speculations about the ending where some people believe that Sam witnessed his father achieve flight on the hospital ledge but others believe that she was also hallucinating or that she saw a meteor. Like the movie Enemy where Jake Gyllenhaal's wife transforms into a giant tarantula at the end.
I don't think Riggan died from the leap because Sam would have seen him lying on the floor. And I also do not believe that Riggan killed himself on opening night and gave us images from his afterlife solely because he wouldn't have placed his tormentor - Birdman, in the hospital bathroom to bother him again.