Birdman Review

Hello :-)

Alejandro González Iñárritu’s is a little hit and miss for me. I like Amores Perros and 21 Grams but Babel and Biutiful are a bit too high on their own sense of self-importance. However, based on the evidence in Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) it’s very possible Iñárritu has created his magnum opus.

Riggan Thompson (Michael Keaton) a former Superhero franchise star is staging and starring in a Broadway play based on Raymond Carver’s short stories. Riggan is juggling his actors, his troubled daughter (Emma Stone) and his failing finances whilst being haunted by the memory of his feathered alter ego.

Much is being made of the performances in Birdman and rightly so because everyone involved is firing on all cylinders. Edward Norton (apparently playing a caricature of his own off-screen persona) is brilliant as the method actor who derides Riggan for his Superhero past life and Emma Stone also impresses as Riggan’s recovering drug addict daughter. There are a whole host of other supporting turns; Zach Galifianakis, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Naomi Watts and Lindsay Duncan are all great in their parts.

At the centre of it all is a tour-de-force turn from Michael Keaton. It’s a great piece of casting on account of his history with the Superhero genre and his lack of exposure in recent years. The range he shows and the warts and all portrayal of a ‘has been’ and tragic hero is more than enough to secure him a Best Actor nod at the Oscars this year, if not the award itself. 

The cinematography is absolutely stunning. Most of the action takes place in the Theatre where the play is showing but Emmanuel Lubezki makes a cramped Broadway theatre seem infinite with the much discussed filming which appears to have been done in one shot (it’s actually several  ginormous tracking shots invisibly stitched together with some computer jiggery pokery). It’s a great gimmick but in practical terms it lends the film a sense of drama and vitality that a cinematic rumination on fame and art wouldn’t naturally have. You never stand still in Birdman, nor do you want to.

The music also helps give Birdman a shot of energy. A gorgeous mix of orchestral tunes and jazz drums (which may or may not also be heard by the characters) the score seems to be deliberately off kilter as if to underline the fact that this film marches to the beat of it’s own drummer.

At it’s worst (well… not worst, but least good) moments Birdman feels a little too arch for it’s own good. “Oooooh aren’t critics awful!” it seems to say whilst taking potshots at the vanity of actors. But Birdman becomes more reflective  as it goes on and gradually the film’s tone shifts to a discussion about the cult of celebrity, the growing importance of social media, the pursuit of art, the aging process and a whole load of other things besides. 

Those moments are balanced out but a great injection of humour. Some great dialogue and brilliant flights of fancy (on one occasion a literal flight) help puncture the poignancy and make this Iñárritu’s funniest film to date. It’s full of little oddball moments and peppered with delicious irony.

I can’t help but roll my eyes when people say that a film has "redefined cinema" but in relation to Birdman it’s sort of true; at least if it hasn’t redefined it it’s made us think about what films are for and the scope they have as vehicles for storytelling. There are so many elements in play, the fantastical against stark reality, ideas of artistic truth and the price of fame, it's a potent mix that may not be for everyone but I found it utterly captivating.

Dream-like, off beat and thoroughly unlike anything I’ve ever seen with every element working together like the keys of a perfectly tuned piano. Birdman is bold, magical film making and a wonderful way to start the year.

Now I fancy some…

Reasons to be Cheerful :-)

1. It’s a new year and 2015 is bringing with it a veritable smorgasbord of films to get excited about.

We’ve got Birdman and The Theory of Everything out now, Foxcatcher and Into the Woods are out next week with American Sniper and Whiplash out the week after and Ex Machina, Kingsman and Big Hero 6 out at the end of the month.

Looking further ahead we’ve got Neill Blomkamp’s Chappie in March, Avengers: Age of Ultron in April, Mad Max: Fury Road,  Pitch Perfct 2 and Tomorrowland in May, Jurassic World and Paper Towns in June, Inside Out in July and in the latter half of 2015 we’ve got big hitters like Spectre, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 and obviously Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

And that’s just the stuff we know about, there’ll be a tonne of tiny budgeted British films and indie flicks on offer this year which will be so much fun to discover.

There’s so much wrong with the film industry but it can produce some bloody wonderful things and hopefully this year will be full of them.

That’s all for today!

Goodbye till next time :-)

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