Birdman

Welcome to another episode of Lights....Camera....Popcorn!

Today's review is Birdman.

Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu.

Written by Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris & Armando Bo.

Review #260

MPAA Rating: Rated R for language throughout, some sexual content and brief violence.

Run Time: 119 min

Hulk Spoils Hollywood Podcast Page

Cast

Michael Keaton...Riggan

Emma Stone...Sam

Zach Galifianakis...Jake

Naomi Watts...Lesley

Jeremy Shamos...Ralph

Andrea Riseborough...Laura

Edward Norton...Mike

Lindsay Duncan...Tabitha

Meritt Weaver...Annie

Movies can do many things.

They can entertain.

Provide an escape from the harsh realities of life.

Remind us of what really matters to us all.

And finally they can inspire.

The immeasurable power that movies wield is what draws me to them and once in a blue moon a film finds a way to do all of the things I just described.

Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you....Birdman!

Plot

A washed-up actor who once played an iconic superhero must overcome his ego and family trouble as he mounts a Broadway play in a bid to reclaim his past glory.

This movie is so amazing that I don't know where to begin so I will do the obvious thing and start from the beginning.

The film begins with this scene and right at the outset you are trying to ascertain what you're seeing. Can Riggan actually fly? Does he think he can? or is Alejandro González Iñárritu just messing with us.

The answer is YES.

From this point on the film no pun intended takes off.

Going into this film I knew a couple of things like the basic synopsis and how this film was a pseudo commentary on Micheal Keaton's career after he donned the cape and cowl. The one thing I didn't know was how this film was going to play and how it plays was just remarkable and in my opinion the only way it would have worked. I want so badly to tell you what I mean but I refuse to take the surprise away from you.

You all deserve to witness it without any preconceived ideas.

So let's get into what I can talk about and I'll start with the Birdman himself.

I mentioned earlier that this film plays like a commentary about Keaton's career after Batman and a strong argument can be made that it is. After achieving massive success playing the superhero Birdman, Riggan has pigeon holed himself into being known as only Birdman. So Riggan's motivation is to take flight and resurrect his career like a phoenix rising from the ashes in a stage play that he adapts, stars and directs.

Sorry for all the bird puns. I couldn't resist.

As the movie progresses you follow Riggan as he juggles all of the responsibilities a director has and you begin to feel overwhelmed as he is. This guy is under a tremendous amount of pressure and Iñárritu does a wonderful job of letting us feel that pressure as Riggan takes his last shot at career revival.

This is just one of several commentaries this film makes about the entertainment industry that I LOVED with every beat of my heart.

The first one is the reality that no matter how big a star you are, eventually the spotlight will move on to someone else. This isn't exactly what happens to Riggan. He's more concerned with giving the audience another side of himself after "selling out" to play Birdman three times in major motion pictures.

Does this sound familiar? It should.

How many times have we heard about actors playing in major blockbuster films, make a ton of money then go behind it's back and trash it because they are "artists" and believe in the "purity" of the acting craft. No matter how hard he tries, Riggan can't escape the bird's shadow. When he's out on the street he's hounded by fans for autographs. He'll be standing outside his theater with his name and picture on the marquee and the people still call him Birdman. He does press to promote the play and when he mentions that doing the play was one of the reasons why he turned down making Birdman 4 one of the foreign reporters goes nuts asking him if he will do it. This frustrates Riggan to no end and begins to complain about it but is called out by his daughter played by Emma Stone.

This scene was brilliantly written and performed by Stone. She rips her dad down off his high horse while sending a message to all the egotistical Tinseltown turncoats that have no problem taking the check to play super whoever only to turn around and bad mouth everything about the film after it's out. It was refreshing to hear someone give Hollywood a reality check when it comes to the hypocrisy the business is notorious for.

But wait....There's more.

The other commentaries this film makes revolve around one spectacular scene involving Riggan and a New York Times theater critic played by Lindsay Duncan. The fate of the play rests on her review and she makes it plain as day that her review will destroy Riggan's chance of any success. The back and forth between the critic and the performer was remarkable. Both sides made valid points worth considering. It was hard to take a side because when the critic pontificates about the S.O.S method of films today and how everyone spends their time “measuring out your worth in weekends.” You understand where she comes from. The first thing Tabitha says to Riggan is "I'm going to kill your play." Then proceeds to call him a "Hollywood clown in a lycra bird suit." Brutal stuff but Birdman fights back. Riggan responds with the logic of how irresponsible and petty it is for a critic to form an opinion on someone's work without seeing it first.

The scene was amazing and for me one of the highlights of a film that was chock full of them.

Speaking of highlights. It's time to talk about how incredible Michael Keaton is. He turns in an Oscar worthy performance that hasn't been seen from him in ages. He injects so much of his career exploits from past and present into this character that you might have been better off calling him Michael instead of Riggan. Plus the Birdman and Batman DNA is way too tongue in cheek to not ignore.

Keaton does a bit of everything with Riggan. You get the stressed out, under the gun, against the clock aging actor who may have bit off more than he can chew with his play. You get the soulful man with heart and emotions. Then you get the fun Riggan which was the zany, out of his head former super hero who still hears Birdman talking to him.

Keaton doesn't have to steal the show because he is the show but the man pictured to the right gives a valiant effort to clip the Birdman's wings. Edward Norton has had a fall from Hollywood grace after some box office flops and over inflated ego clashes with the powers that be in the biz. To see him comeback and comeback strong was a pleasure to witness. Norton is a really good actor and the material he's given here puts him back on the level he once shared with the elite. A lot of this has to do with Iñárritu's direction and the stunning script but the performance still has to materialize and man does it ever.

This film is an achievement on so many levels that it's gonna get SERIOUS contention for some Hollywood hardware. The only thing that can possibly stop or slow down The Birdman is every film's arch enemy....The calendar. This film might have been better served if it was released around Christmas time when all the other Oscar contenders get released. The other side to that argument is Birdman is ahead of the competition because it came out first. Very valid point but in situations like this I'm reminded of something Charles Barkley once said. "The only person that's undefeated in sports is Father Time." Meaning that the more time passes as more Oscar films come out, will Birdman get lost in the flock? Highly unlikely. I'm just concerned that the power this film carries will be weakened by it coming out in October.

One thing remains clear.

Birdman is a tremendous film that requires your money and attention. A must see!

On the 5 star scale. Birdman gets the full house. 5 stars with a "Worth Every Penny!" recommendation.

That's a wrap for today!

Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"

"D"