Birdman Soars

Rating: 10/10 (29 December 2014)

Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) has already received a flock of critical acclaim. With an impressive 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and a more than respectable 89 from Metacritic, it should be clear to readers that there is plenty to love about this movie. What will one more positive review going to do? Hopefully, it convinces readers to see one of 2014's finest films and one of the best of the 2010's (a decade that Birdman has a quite a few things to say about.) Director Alejandro González Iñárritu hatches a living, breathing masterwork that feels like nothing else I have experienced at the movies.
The story, although difficult to categorize, lands in the precariously placed nest of 'meta-film' – but in that case – it could just as easily land in the 'meta-theater' category. Obscure as those genres may be, Iñárritu's fifth feature throws in enough comedic banter, existential crises, spot-on satire, taught drama, and surreal suspense to mystify any film scholar attempting to successfully pigeonhole Birdman. Think back to the year's most critically successful film (Boyhood) and the year's most lucrative (Guardians of the Galaxy); while each of these films boast some substantial cinematic creativity, neither of them come close to the unclassifiable postmodern genre goulash that is Birdman. Iñárritu and his three co-writers (Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris & Armando Bo) have crafted a screenplay with a 'meta' feel that does not get off by winking at the audience the entire time.
In addition to its tantalizing cavalcade of genres, Birdman filters its action through an effective art-imitates-life lens aided largely by Michael Keaton's presence. As many critics have observed, Keaton's casting is perfect for the role of Riggan Thomson. Keaton, who played Batman in the two Tim Burton adaptations twenty years ago, has seen his career become somewhat deflated (although not entirely extinct) since donning the guise of the caped crusader. Similarly, Riggan, a Hollywood veteran who played Birdman twenty years ago, finds that his post-superhero acting career is in relatively dire straits. Introspective, insecure, and occasionally insane, the viewer encounters a Riggan who appears to have pulled it together just enough to stage a massive comeback by way of his Broadway adaptation of Raymond Carver's "What We Talk about When We Talk about Love." The film chronicles the backstage friction leading up to the play's previews and, of course, the premiere itself.
Within the first five minutes of the film, a myriad of problems arise that can potentially prevent Riggan's play from taking flight. As if Riggan's own perilous ego as the director, writer, and star of the play wasn't enough to worry about, the production must replace an originally slated actor with Mike Shiner (Edward Norton), a world class actor with world class pretensions. When Riggan isn't fighting with Mike over professional ideals, Riggan's alleged best friend and lawyer Jake (Zach Galifianakis) plagues him with reminders about the production's financial instability and impending lawsuit. This all goes without bringing up Riggan's tumultuous relationship with his daughter Sam (Emma Stone), a recovering druggie who Riggan has hired to be his assistant. Oh, and did I forget to mention the voice in Riggan's head incessantly bringing up his past failures?
With all of these factors in play, Birdman offers some of the year's richest characters and most original scenarios. Thanks to terrific writing and an all-around stellar cast, what could have been an ambitious mess becomes an ambitious masterpiece in Iñárritu's masterful hands. Keaton, Norton, and Stone deliver performances deserving of award recognition come Oscar time, but the acting is just one of the movie's exceptional assets. Despite being set primarily in a theater, the film's cinematography is surprisingly dynamic. Emmanuel Lubezki's camera work distracts from the confines of its limited space by being constantly on the move. In fact, the film appears to be composed in one unbroken tracking shot. The unedited feel of the photography intimates the most honest recording of a theatrical performance I have ever seen captured on film, and Antonio Sanchez's omni-present jazz percussion soundtrack provides fittingly kinetic aural accompaniment to the film's frenetic visuals.
Brimming with technical brilliance, Birdman also proves to be indelibly enthralling to witness, especially for stage and screen aficionados. According to Christy Lemire's review of the film, Iñárritu sent the cast a picture of Man on Wire's Philippe Petit walking along a tightrope between the World Trade Centers. The film's every aspect channels this balance between success and failure. Birdman examines and mocks; from its characters to modern culture, nothing is sacred. Thankfully, its critiques dodge didacticism and are never anything less than constructive and thought-provoking. For every bump, twist, and turn in Birdman's roller-coaster, there is a deeper message demanding unpacking from its audience.
Grade: A
By Ben Pieper (November 17th, 2014)