Birdman | Alejandro González Iñárritu | NYFF 2014
Alejandro González Iñárritu returns with his masterful new film Birdman, which focuses on Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton), an actor who used to be one of the best. Back in his glory days, when he played a superhero named Birdman, Riggan was one of the biggest stars in the movie business. That was a long time ago, and now he’s best known as the guy who used to play Birdman. Riggan is constantly haunted by the character, whose voice and image constantly plays as an alter-ago, tormenting him throughout his days.
To get his his career back on the right track, he adapts Raymond Carver’s short story, “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” for Broadway. His team includes his best friend and producer, Jake (Zach Galifianakis), his girlfriend Laura (Andrea Riseborough), new theater actress Lesley (Naomi Watts), a miscast actor named Ralph (Jeremy Shamos), and Riggan’s daughter and assistant, Sam (Emma Stone).
Riggan puts his heart and soul (as well as his savings) into the production of the play, desperately needing it to succeed so he can prove to naysayers such as tough theater critic Tabitha (Lindsay Duncan). that he is the actor that they once remembered. Only, the production is a mess. They’re at the late stages of rehearsals with preview performances only a few days away, yet the play seems doomed to fail, and Riggan’s Birdman alter-ago isn’t helping him hold it, or himself, together.
A bizarre accident leaves his male co-star Ralph injured, leaving Riggan in desperate need of a new actor only days before preview performances. Out comes Mike Shiner (Edward Norton), a well known actor, but a bit of an egomaniac who clashes with Riggan almost immediately. It doesn’t help that Mike takes a liking for Sam, only furthering Riggan’s dislike for Shiner. The play is barely on track as it is, and Mike’s unpredictable presence puts the whole thing in jeopardy. But damn it, Riggan needs him on board.
Birdman is a dazzling experience, and Iñárritu gives it to us with in one full swoop. The masterful camera work by master cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki is edited (by Douglas Crise and Stephen Mirrione) to portray the entire film as one giant long take, creating an experience unlike any other this year. The mighty drum-led score by Antonio Sánchez follows all the action, playing a character in its own right (an idea that Iñárritu brings to life through Riggan’s hallucinations).
There’s much connection between the career-arc of the character Keaton is playing, and the Keaton’s actual career. Keaton was once one of the biggest movie stars (and a Batman), so there was plenty that he could relate to. He plays Riggan with a lingering intensity, capturing both the tortured alter-ago and the sensitive side of an actor that just wants to be respected by his peers, but most importantly, his daughter.
Emma Stone seemed to find her ways into all the best scenes of Birdman, capturing something that we haven’t seen from her in what is her best performance to date. Then there’s a fiery and passionate performance from Edward Norton, whose character also hits close to him, as he is regarded as a great actor but a somewhat difficult personality. Naomi Watts, Zach Galifianakis, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, and Lindsay Duncan all deliver fine supporting performances each having a moment to shine and chew out a notable scene of their own.
Iñárritu’s Birdman captures so much, so well. It’s surprisingly one of the funniest movies of the year, but also throwing tons of tender dramatic moments at you. It’s an ode to both theater and movie making, a love for passionate arts in every field. Birdman toys with your emotions and conjures up passion of some sort with every line, every shot, every note of music. There’s not one wasted moment throughout it. It’s ending will have a different meaning for everyone who watches it, but I think most, if not all of us, can agree that Birdman is one of the best films that 2014 has to offer.
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