The cinematography is luscious with a very creative screenplay and mesmerizing musical score

Rating: 10/10 (17 January 2015)

I left the theater feeling I got my moneys' worth, and as a result I have placed this film title on my "purchase for personal library" list. Why? Well I am not a big fan of dark comedies but the characters in this film, and more importantly the actors playing the characters were all top notch performances. I can understand why Michael Keaton would have received an Academy Award nomination for Lead Actor, and why he has already won the 2015 Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy.
The film revolves around a depressed washed up action hero whose action hero character the Birdman made three epic multi-million blockbuster films some two decades earlier. After losing his box office drawing power Riggan Thomas (played by Michael Keaton) decides to invest his remaining bankroll and mortgage his Malibu beach home to write, direct and act in a Broadway play based on a short story written by an author named Raymond Carver. Carver had hand written a note and personally handed it to Riggan complementing him on his performance when Riggan was a young actor just starting out in the business. Riggan held on to that note for the next three decades in his wallet as a reminder that someone as famous as Raymond Carver believed in his acting abilities. So Riggan decides to muster up all his courage, talent (and especially his own money) to adapt his stage play based on Raymond Carver's short story that was written some 50 years earlier. Riggan will give his heart, soul and mind to direct and also act in his stage play.
Riggan's action hero character Birdman continues to haunt and taunt Riggan's mind by telling him he is the Birdman and must rise up and fly like he has never flown before and take the worlds evil doers on as he did when he was the number one rated box office draw. Riggan realizes that his mind is playing tricks on him and so he tries to suppress these images of the Birdman when it appears in his dressing room just before he is to appear on stage.
The stage is where we get to see both Michael Keaton's and Edward Norton's brilliance as "A grade" actors. Norton adds both humor and suspense to the film when he joins the plays cast as a late replacement for an actor that Riggan felt was just awful for his play. So Norton, who plays Mike, is considered a natural born for the stage box office draw agrees to join the cast after his live in girlfriend Lesley (played by Naomi Watts) recommends her boyfriend Mike to Riggan.
The business of operating the play is managed by a lawyer named Jake (played superbly by Zach Galifianakis). Jake also adds some of the the comedy relief to the depressing character of Michal Keaton's Riggan/Birdman. Jake is Riggan's oldest and dearest best friend and moral compass to keep the stage play financially afloat but Riggan's mind continues to waver as Birdman's character continues to make his presence felt in Riggan's mind and he continues to explode and make some bad decisions with both his finances and his career.
Adding to his personal turmoil is his ex-wife Sylvia (played by Amy Ryan) and his daughter Sam (played by Emma Stone) fresh out of re- hab who are both hovering around the stage and adding to his guilt of not being a faithful husband or present father.
So we the audience get to see if Riggan can survive his own stage play, his family guilt, his girlfriend, his new and brilliant co-star Mike, a New York stage critic with a nasty pen that has buried many a Broadway plays on their opening night, and of course can Riggan survive Birdman? I did enjoy this 2 hour dark dramedy more than I thought I would mainly due to the strong acting by this cast of stars and I will give credit to the director Alejandro González Iñárritu for maintaining a strong story line and captivating his audience. Mrs. Shullivan came out of the theatre stating "well that was different but I did enjoy Michael Keaton and Edward Norton's performances". It will be added as a keeper to my collection. Well done. I give the film an 8 out of 10.