An ambitious film about Broadway, life and relationships

Rating: 7/10 (15 January 2015)

Birdman was one of the most ambitious films of the year and Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu managed to pull off this very unique film about a former movie star trying to get back in the spotlight through a Broadway film. At first that is what it seems it is going to focus on but it does touch on more deeper meanings involving his family and his relationships with himself and those around him. Michael Keaton was definitely the best part of the film, he portrayed Riggan so well that i began to believe that this could have actually been a real person. He showed so much passion in playing this character that you really get sucked in to his amazing performance. The supporting cast i felt also did a pretty good job but did not shine as brightly as Keaton.
Another highlight from the film has to be the ingenious and mesmerising method used to film it. The one-shot sweeping camera technique used gave this film a very different feel than many other films and really let you follow these characters and get to see them in all different environments without all of the jarring cuts. The performances as well as shooting technique are what make this film what it is. But that was still not enough for me to absolutely love this movie, the overall tone of the film didn't really work for me, i understood why they went for a dark and comedic yet also dramatic tone as there were some sections that i really enjoyed but for the most part i couldn't really enjoy the entire film as much as i wanted to. Despite not being able to really enjoy this film as much as i had hoped, i still got to see one of the performances of the year in one of the more different films of 2014, if you are an admirer of some different, quality film this may be the film for you - 7.6