possibly not as good as the sum of its parts.

Rating: 7/10 (10 January 2015)

OK, so like many bozo film fans, I ran into the theater expecting a clever, knowing pastiche of the 'Super Hero' Genre. The modern super hero film is becoming increasingly knowing, the clever CG and the 'graphic novel' a sophisticated character in it's own right.
Birdman, will get this surely, do something clever, making smart reference to the modern film? Sadly it does not, the central character that the film plays with is from that Michael Keaton era of super hero film, the early Batman who was more super hero cut out than anything particularly sophisticated.
It is almost as if the film has arrived at the self referential cinema party ten years too late. There are many smart references to the relationship of critic and artist, the loud and dumbed down international blockbuster vs earnest artsy Broadway play.
For me the two outstanding scenes are when Riggan and his wide eyed daughter face of in a way that only a Father and his grown child can. The scene is full of pathos and Riggans sense of loss of his own relevance and identity is palpable. The second scene when Riggan confronts the theater critic in the bar is also remarkable a fulcrum and catalyst for Riggans sense of identity and purpose in a fast moving always on consumer culture. In this respect the critic is death itself a macabre demon a great deal more sophisticated than the Birdman character who plagues his past memory and present sense of the world.
An interesting film with some real high points bogged down by an anger which is clearly directed at the industry, an industry that is simply a mirror of public taste. With this in mind, who is the middle finger aimed towards?