Innovative camera work can't save this confused, all over the place film

Rating: 4/10 (27 November 2018)

It is truly perplexing to me the universal love Birdman has received. Again, I feel like I must just chalk it up as my lack of appreciation for satire. Then again, many people and critics called it enthralling and energetic from start to finish, and there was no point where I was engaged or particularly attached to the movie, and I definitely never found it funny. The idea of making a movie that looks like one long shot is extremely creative, and they pull it off brilliantly. Unfortunately, that alone can't make a movie succeed. Keaton is good as the lead, and there are some interesting themes of success, loneliness, and ego but none of them ever shine through or are ever developed in a meaningful way. The ending was silly - how could he have missed and only shot his nose, why was Birdman so in his head, and how could the newspaper story have an impact on viewers? For such a great cast who turn in respectable performances and really creative camera work, it's disappointing to me that a coherent, thematically consistent plot that made me feel any emotion at all couldn't have been attached to it.