Deep multi-layered story about personal fears and insecurities, especially about social isolation.

Rating: 8/10 (13 January 2015)

He kills himself at the end, finally, right? (He attempted suicide a few times before -- eg. by trying to drown himself on his marriage anniversary, and lastly in the theater with the real gun. (The nose we see after he removes the bandage is his delusional mind, telling him that "things aren't so bad", or something like that.)) And, in all likelihood, his daughter kills herself too. She always had a suicidal penchant for jumping off buildings (for very similar reasons -- lack of love from daddy), and when she finally partakes in Keaton's flying birdman delusions, that's the sign that she's dead too. She jumped.
I cried during his last performance when he shoots himself. It resonates extremely deeply with me -- being fake, unloved, an actor in a play, "an idiot, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage". Deep.
The dissonant discordant chaotic drumming music was genius -- perfect for the constant irritation and discomfort of having to lie and fake it.
There were many times when we weren't able to tell the acting from "reality". Genius. Eg. a bunch of times during the play rehearsals when we think that he's gone berserk and actually kills himself, or when he fakes having been beaten by his dad with Norton. And Norton does this too a few times. There were also many times when they were hyper-real. Eg. Norton sharing his fears and insecurities about masculinity (erection problems), and lack of connection (unable to be honest off stage), and Keaton with his fears about being a forgotten has-been, and being vulnerable (walking in underwear in a crowded city). These precious glimpses of reality were the guideposts to help figure out exactly what is going on. If it wasn't for them, the film would be a lot harder to penetrate, because the rest of the acting was kinda believable -- I could have convinced myself that it was simply about a guy with a playful imagination struggling to become a famous actor/director.
The second-guessing about whether what we just saw was real or fake was really trippy. Losing one's sanity / grip on reality is super frightening :s. Especially without anyone (a beloved) being a guide.