Fascinating and perverse

Rating: 7/10 (22 February 2015)

It was annoying to see a movie about GENUINE actors' emotions, problems, and mental states, but know it was all scripted and presumably made up.
On the other hand, it was a tour de force to script and perform such a multi-layered piece. The actors are playing other actors, with (presumably) fake relationships and feelings for other actors (who they know in real life), in the middle of a play and 'real-life' drama. And their characters (such as "Riggan Thompson") are playing other characters in a play, which intersects oddly with their 'real' (fake) characters' lives and problems. On top of all this, the main character appears to be losing touch with reality and hallucinating *part* of the time, so everything is suspect and we don't know if there's another magical realism level, but the ending implies there is some real magic.
The title is funny -- Keaton was Batman, but never played either Birdman, but I'm sure DC Comics doesn't want questions about whether this is canon for their Batman character...
I wish I knew whether any of the relationships they portray between characters are based on real life relationships between Keaton/Norton or other actors, or made up of whole cloth. Perhaps in 10-20 years IMDb will have good data and anecdotes on this.
And I have to give Keaton credit for playing an over-the-hill actor who's losing it. Some points for bravery there.