Absolutely the best artistic film of the year thus far

Rating: 8/10 (23 December 2014)

I can think of a hundred people who would go see Birdman and walk out thinking it was utter crap. It is definitely not for everyone. It is bizarre, artistic, in your face and it takes a certain cinematic knowledge and experience to appreciate how the film is shot and camera angles and intelligent story points. I'm not implying that anyone who doesn't like this film is dumb...I struggled myself sometimes to appreciate the cinematic artistry behind the story. The thing that Birdman has going for it is that its extremely well acted, fascinated, bizarre in a good way and fun to watch. So even if you don't care for all that "how it was made" stuff you might still enjoy watching something a little different. Its a very, very dark comedy and completely different than what I expected. It is a surrealist satire, a play within a movie within a play in a guy's mind. Its about acceptance and being yourself and dealing with fame and ego. Its the type of film I would love to sit and discuss with film students and as I've said about a few other movies, I think a film school could do an entire class based on this film alone. Its completely understandable why critics have latched onto this film. Every year or two you get one truly unique film out of Hollywood and Birdman is exactly that.
I adore Michael Keaton. I've always been a big fan of his. I was excited to see him get back to leading man status. This is a tour de force performance. He is twisted and really disturbed and desperately trying to hold onto reality and life. You watch him in this struggle to maintain his sanity and you began to get lost in what is real and what's in his mind. He is eccentric and hyper and just commands the screen. Not to be outdone Edward Norton returns to a more leading role in a big way as the pompous and loud Broadway star Mike. Norton is amazing. His scenes with and opposite Keaton are absolutely amazing. This is Norton's best performance in years and he has had some great ones. Naomi Watts is also very good (her second great performance I've seen her in lately after St. Vincent) She plays the struggling actress very well and her scenes with Norton are really great. Emma Stone gives a very different performance as Keaton's wild-child daughter. She is very good although it felt weird seeing her in that type of role. Zach Galifianakis actually pulls off not being completely ridiculous as Keaton's lawyer and best friend. He definitely plays the part for laughs but he fits into the tone of the movie which I was surprised about.
The cast is very good together...definitely an ensemble cast. It really is like watching a play on stage where everyone feeds off of each other. The single camera angle that follows Keaton around is a brilliant movie by director Alejandro González Iñárritu. Not only do you feel like you are right in step with Keaton but you feel like you're on stage, back stage, an integral part of the scenes unfolding. You feel the energy and the film is definitely high energy. Its almost exhausting watching it. I don't know how else to explain it. It is complex in so many ways and yet simple enough if you don't try and analyze it too much but how can you not? There are so many questions and bizarre moments and "wait a second..." type emotions you'll feel. It really is watching a break in sanity and all the while it actually makes you question your own ego and your own humanity and mortality...yah its that deep. So all in all its definitely not for everyone and I'm not sure I would watch it again, certainly not for an entertainment purpose but I also would completely understand if it took home film awards this season because it is unique, very well made and fascinating to watch. 8.5/10