Birdman (2014) Review
THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
When life gets hard, it’s gonna take a long time to get where you want to be.
PLOT
2014’s Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) follows faded actor Riggan Thomson who was once popular of the titular acclaimed superhero trilogy from 1989-92. Tormented by an inner voice of his past self, he imagines having telekinesis and levitation. He is adapting the Raymond Carver play, ‘What We Talk About When We Talk About Love’, but Birdman’s voice wants him to go back to blockbusters as he deems it essential to his identity. His daughter Sam is a recovering addict now working as his assistant, his lawyer/friend Jake is co producing the play with him, which co-stars his new girlfriend Laura and Broadway newcomer Lesley. With hapless actor Ralph (Jeremy Shamos) being struck with a light fixture the day before the first preview showing, Lesley is able to secure her boyfriend Mike Shiner to be an instant replacement. Although he leaves a good impression on Riggan when rehearsing, the first preview goes awry due to his method acting decisions to be actually drunk on set, breaking character over his gin getting replaced with water. As much as Riggan wants him gone for his behavior, Jake makes it clear they can’t afford to lose another actor at this point of production. When checking in with his ex wife Sylvia, he is able to convince her to sell one of their houses to continue financing the play. When taking Mike out for a walk hoping to get on the same page, the latter validates his behavior because of theater critic Tabitha Dickinson (Lindsay Duncan), showing she’ll be most critical towards opening night. When returning to the theater, he berates Sam after catching her with a marijuana joint, in which she rebuffs by calling out how the play is his last chance of vanity. This leaves him speechless to the point where she regrets her choice of words as she walks away. The next day, previews worsen when Mike tries to force Lesley to have actual sex onstage and complains of the prop gun not being able to threaten him, insisting Riggan to get a real one. Lesley gets so uncomfortable of the whole ordeal that she breaks up with him over this and has a passionate kiss with Laura in her dressing room. It is only after this where Mike starts hanging out with Sam, having intimate conversations via Truth or dare. When the next day comes, Riggan fights him over using his connection to Carver as the reason to be part of the play. It is after this fight where he also has a breakdown in his dressing room. As he considers canceling the final preview, Jake has to cheer him up by lying that Martin Scorsese is interested in casting him in his next movie, which disappoints Laura that he would do that to him. Lesley however apologizes to Riggan about Mike and expresses gratitude for giving her the opportunity she’s been dreaming of. The day of the last preview, Thomson would be surprised seeing Shiner with his daughter and openly disappointed Laura breaks up with him over the fact he showed zero excitement of being pregnant which she never turned out to be. When he goes out for a smoke break before the final preview, his robe gets stuck in the door and is forced to go around Times Square in his underwear to get back in the theater. Sam would express concern of the incident, but would also show that it made him go viral, giving him the vanity he was hoping for. This inspires him to confront Tabitha at the bar who open dislikes him as she believes him to not have artistic integrity and hopes to give a bad review without even seeing the play. As he roams around New York with some whiskey, he passes out on a stoop. When he wakes up, Birdman’s voice suggests to do another blockbuster when the play is over. This leads to him imagining he’s flying all over Manhattan before returning to the theater. Throughout opening day, he is highly praised by audiences. Before the last showing, he confesses to Sylvia of how he tried committing suicide after she caught him cheating on her, but she chooses to not believe he has an inner voice. Once she leaves, he finishes the show and shoot’s himself with a real gun. Unbeknownst to the audience of what he did, they give him a standing ovation. When he wakes up at the hospital, Jake shows him and Sylvia of Tabitha praising his performance rather than destroy it, also unaware of his intentions. When Sam visits her dad after Jake, she shows him how much a resurgence he got on social media having set up an account for him. When she goes to get a vase for some flowers she got him, Riggan goes to the bathroom to remove the bandages of his now surgically reconstructed but swollen nose. When getting fascinated of hearing birds outside his room, he opens the window and jumps out the ledge. While Sam does not find him when she returns, the film ends with her smiling as she looks up to the sky.
THOUGHTS
This dramedy is my introduction to director/cowriter Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu who has proven to have a versatile catalog since he started making movies to begin with. Iñárritu is a man of ambition and it’s no denial here since he was able to make a surreal experience as if the whole 2hr runtime looks like a continuous take thanks to the fluent combo by cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki and editors Douglas Crise & Stephen Mirrione. I like that feeling because it creates an atmosphere in not just the approach in show business, but how life can be full spontaneity and the world will just keep going which in turn makes each of our lives exciting. Whether it is seeing affairs between costars, having a bender in the streets of NY, imagining you’re flying or unintentionally walking back to the theater while you’re in your underwear. Yeah that comes to show hilariously unpredictable our lives can be when we’re not even trying to make it so. The drama kicks in hard when seeing the tension between all the characters trying to out the pieces together for themselves in order to move forward however so and I think that’s what makes this one so watchable as we are reminded to know the difference of love and admiration, otherwise we’ll remain trapped in our egos. Although this is an ensemble piece, Michael Keaton’s lead performance as Riggan Thomson feels like a one man show as you root for him to recover mentally. I know Alejandro swore he did not base Riggan’s arc off of Keaton’s post Batman career, but you cannot deny the parallel is quite visible. Riggan chose to stop playing Birdman because he wanted to prove his range as an actor and he pushes his limits in the play to the point of suicide because he was desperate to give the authenticity people didn’t think he had in him. It’s one thing to respect ambition when it comes to expressing dedication to what is deemed fine arts, but there should be a notice to limits when it matters most and it’s a shame he never really noticed his own due to his inner voice clouding his own judgement. Push come to shove, it took a dangerous risk for him to get both of what he wanted after years of not knowing the difference. His suicide attempt lead to overdue admiration while his overall efforts did get the love he wanted from his family which I’m sure he wanted sooner. Example being that Amy Ryan is a more concerned person for him as Sylvia despite not married anymore, whereas Zach Galifianakis is relentless is being a desperate pragmatist. He has been moved by Riggan to seek validation the way he has, which only makes him a bad friend instead since he’s not as sacred after being more concerned with the headlines more than his health. I’m sure there was solid compatibility at the time with Laura given that Andrea Riseborough makes her more easygoing. The difference is she’s got her own her vulnerability as she too wants just a little bit of validation from anyone if not him and that’s why she unexpectedly hits it off with Lesley from their only kiss since she was seeking the same feeling. Enter Naomi Watts who showed the latter as the only one of the play’s cast to be voice of reason because she finally made it to the crème of the crop, but is overwhelmed with accepting the dream job isn’t perfect. She realized that when seeing how she’s far from compatible from someone as self absorbed as Mike. At first, she did think he was worth the trial and tribulation because you can learn from somebody that’s a once in a generation talent, but the longer spend time with him, Edward Norton only proves he’s got too much narcissism for one to handle especially if he boldly tries to have sex onstage, which is why you can’t blame Riggan when he kicks his ass. With that being said, it’s still a surprise how his attitude can impress anyone at that point. As it plays out, it does seem to me he and Sam hit it off in the short time they have together because they can relate to that feeling disconnected in their own ways. For him, no one gets his integrity while Sam just wants to find a sense of purpose similar to her dad and when together, they just seem to have a spark that been missing for so long in their lives. Last but not least, Emma Stone is amazing as Sam because she’s able to top her dad in terms of being cynical in response to how his pursuit in fame put her in his shadow. When she exposes him on how bad he seeks vanity, it’s the best scene for me because he needed to hear the truth just once in order to figure out what to do next with his life. If she didn’t do that, Riggan would’ve not broken out of that cloud he covered himself in. As for the ending, I don’t want to think he took his life otherwise his daughter would’ve not smiled in the end. In my opinion, I see it as him officially being free of his inner demons and her smile implies she’s proud of him and I can call that as the most creative happy ending you can ask for. I already like this movie for what it is, but there have been some confusing moments I’ve picked up on during a rewatch. Like it’s really unnecessary for Riggan to answer Sam’s virtual call while getting dressed, but I also don’t really believe Mike when he says Tabitha’s opinion as a critic is the only one that matters for the play to be a hit. Next thing, how did Lesley & Mike still get the fake blood spilt on them during the preview showing? Riggan wasn’t close enough for the blood bag to hit them after it goes off. So if there was a second blood bag that goes off closer to the bed, that should’ve been implied. I mean it is one thing to raise the stakes and depict her like she’s Anton Ego, but there is no way she’s the only popular NY critic out there when newspapers are still a thing. Next thing, what can be more hilarious of how Riggan having to go back in the theater in his underwear and remaining in character as he’s back in, it’s gotta be how the ticket master doesn’t recognize him at all. I get that she wouldn’t recognize a man in his underwear, but it’s the star of the show for crying out loud and it ain’t like he’s covering his face. In short, Birdman earns its glory at the Oscars, including Best Picture, for showing a creative spin in how inner chaos can pave the way for solace. If you like a movie that is all about respecting the arts, this one might do it for you.
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