An Audacious Window to the Struggles Involved in the Creative Process and the Aftermath of Superstardom

Rating: 8/10 (20 November 2014)

Anybody who's been through the creative process of either writing a book, a play, a short film, or anything in which they put their blood, sweat, and tears into will relate to the story depicted in Birdman.
Riggan Thomas once was a superstar. He became famous twenty years ago with a trilogy of superhero films in which he played the protagonist. Now that he has aged, and went through several years of being the shadow of his former self and struggling to get other significant roles, Thomas tries to reinvent himself on Broadway with a play that he wrote, that he will direct and in which he will act. However, we get to witness the creative and psychological struggles that he faces as a father, as a once popular washed-up actor, and as a creator caught up with the voice of Birdman, the one role that once made him beloved by the public, but that is now haunting him.
It's delightful to see Michael Keaton on the big screen again, especially in this role. Yes, he is the one man that became notorious after playing Batman in Tim Burton's cult films. I do not want to diminish the part of Keaton's career that came between these two Batman films and Birdman, but let's just say there is a similarity between Keaton's career and his character's that brings some kind of magic to the aura of this film.
Keaton is unforgettable as a man dealing with a wide array of creative, parental, and professional struggles. The whole cast does an unbelievable job of portraying Riggan's entourage, through a palette of atypical performances from great actors (Edward Norton, Noami Watts, Zach Galifianakis, Emma Stone, among others).
Birdman in itself is a huge technical accomplishment. It's worth watching for that alone. Alejandro González Iñárritu's directing is a visual tour-de-force. Rarely do we see almost an entire movie be delivered through a tracking shot (which was slickly sewn together at a few key spots). The setting is also explored in a way that feels almost suffocating at times, drawing a great metaphor between the backstage corridors of the theatre/Riggan's dressing room and Riggan's tortured mind. The only few times he gets out of the theatre's walls, he never goes really far, and his mind never leaves the place.
Also, Birdman would not be the same film without its dialogue, which leads the whole film, in line with the stunning directing, to both hyper realistic and surreal places at times. Its pin-point timing, along with the constantly moving camera and the minimal soundtrack, dictate a tightly measured pace that brings the viewer in the middle of a neurosis that's peppered with just the right amounts of humor and drama.
Impressive work in all aspects.