COURTESY: MOVIEPOSTERSDB.COM
Rating: A+
From acting and directing to editing and score, director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “Birdman” is a soaring triumph for an otherwise mediocre year in American cinema.
A perfectly crafted dark-comedy focused on the pitfalls of ambition, “Birdman” follows fading Hollywood celebrity Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) and the colorful characters around him as he unravels in the days leading up to his Broadway debut. Iñárritu’s approach to this story, which could have easily ended up as unnerving and bleak as similarly themed masterpiece “Black Swan,” culminates in a film that is never too grim, never too lighthearted but always captivatingly somewhere in the middle.
Filmed and edited to appear as one continuous take and set to the beat of pulsating percussions, “Birdman” emerges as smooth as a stream-of-consciousness piece of Jazz poetry, with Riggan as the stricken subject of soulful Beat poet Iñárritu’s orations. The experimental qualities were risky but succeed in sweeping you fully and directly into the plot like a one-act play. Once the film starts rolling, there’s no going back, much like Riggan’s insane life and alter-ego Birdman both pull him into a string of events beyond his control.
The story of Riggan is a story of a hopeless attempt at maintaining relevancy despite being decades removed from his prime. In many ways, this story mirrors actor Michael Keaton himself, who once famously played Batman and now finds himself flung back into the spotlight by participating in this film. Perhaps his own experience with fading starpower inspired the career-defining, brilliant performance he turns out as Riggan.
Riggan – a man who once played superhero Birdman – has responded to the dimming limelight by developing a separate personality channeling the titular character and the previous role he once inhabited. In the moments that Birdman emerges, Riggan reclaims the control he so desperately wants through hallucinations and suggested telekinetic powers. Keaton handles the interactions between Riggan – who just wants to be adored – his alterego and those around him masterfully as he struggles to reclaim his fame. The façade he uses with personal interactions is one and the same as the mask he wears as Birdman, with the real Riggan living somewhere between the two poles. Keaton painstakingly brings this internal conflict to life.
The standout supporting characters are his daughter and recovering addict Sam (Emma Stone) and egocentric rival performer Mike Shiner (Edward Norton). Despite having more minor roles, both actors bring a depth to the characters that carefully expose their respective layers as the plot progresses. Officially proving the girl can act, Emma Stone shines in her gritty and witty portrayal of a character that could have easily become clichéd. But every character is wonderfully brought to life by dynamic, tongue-in-cheek performances. Zack Galifinackis as long-time friend and lawyer Jake, Andrea Riseborough as girlfriend and fellow performer Laura, and Naomi Watts as fellow film-turned-Broadway actress Lesley are all worth mentioning.
But these performances could not exist without the tediously written screenplay. The characters and situations are written to expose the shallow nature of the entertainment industry and the futility of striving to remain important in a fleeting life. The questions this script poses are answered cleverly, heartbreakingly and viscerally.
With the editing and storyline (including the parallels between Keaton and Riggan) and under the direction of Iñárritu (whose previous credits include “21 Grams,” “Babel” and “Biutiful”), “Birdman” becomes something fascinatingly meta. The lines between fantasy and reality blur, and by the end, you’ll be left questioning if those lines even existed in the first place.
There’s a reason “Birdman” received nine nominations for the upcoming 87th Academy Awards, including a nomination for Best Picture. This honor is fitting as “Birdman” may very well be the best release from 2014.
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