Good picture, not best picture

Rating: 8/10 (8 October 2017)

This is another movie that supports the argument that Hollywood loves movies about itself. I don't like to think that this myth is true, but 2014 was an amazing year for movies and Birdman was not the best one that came out. It's definitely good in a lot of ways and is much different from the rest of Alejandro Inarritu's work.
I wasn't thrilled with it as a whole piece. It was cohesive and everything, but there wasn't a whole lot of cause and effect going on. That may be a little nit-picky, but I think if you went scene by scene and asked "why does this scene have to happen now?" there would be a few scenes that you wouldn't be able to give a substantial answer for. On the other hand, I enjoyed watching it for a lot of reasons. It was genuinely funny at several points. The chaotic drums in the background added a lot too. The dialogue was subtly impressive, advancing each scene while sounding very natural. It certainly helped that there were a lot of great actors to play each part. Riggan was an interesting and strangely accessible character that is struggling a lot with his self-confidence.
The choice to make almost the entire movie a continuous tracking shot was good in some ways, and detracted in others. Part of the issue was that cut away a few times. Cutting away was good in that it drew attention to what went on in those couple moments, but it tarnished the novelty of the one-take. In a way, the movie was enhanced by the continuous shot because it reflected the world and made it feel a little more real at times. There were a few points, particularly during transitional moments like when it flashed from night to morning, where I felt like they were forcing the continuous take. This also made it a little more irksome when the take was broken. Maybe it's fitting that this particular movie was trying a little too hard to be something that it's not.
As I implied at the beginning, I don't think this deserved to win best picture and don't consider it a must-see. It is an artsy but good movie that can be enjoyed by people who aren't into the performing arts. Still, those who are inclined toward creative pursuits will probably enjoy this more than those who don't, or will at least have stronger opinions about it. Overall Rating: 7.9/10