Birdman

"I'm nothing. I'm not even here."

Riggan Thomson (Keaton) is an out-of-work Hollywood actor.  He is best remembered as the star of the popular Birdman action superhero franchise decades ago.  He is looking for redemption on Broadway.  He is the star, writer, and director of the play, based on Raymond Carver's "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love."  The play is being produced by his best friend and lawyer Jake (Galifianakis), and is draining Riggan's personal finances.

Riggan is tormented by the voice of Birdman mocking his decisions.  He also has to deal with contentious costars.  After his original costar was injured on set, he hires Broadway star Mike Shiner (Norton).  Mike is a brilliant actor, but wants everything to be realistic which includes ignoring the wishes of his costars.  Riggan's girlfriend Laura (Riseborough) and Broadway newbie Lesley (Watts) round out the plays main characters.  And Riggan's daughter Sam (Stone), fresh out of her stint in rehab, is serving as his assistant.  With theater critic Tabitha Dickinson (Duncan) gunning for the show, can they make it to opening night?


This film has garnered significant buzz over the last few months.  It is nominated for 9 Oscars (Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Director, and Best Picture) and has won numerous other awards.

Director Alejandro Inarritu, who also co-wrote the screenplay, made some impressive technical choices on the film.  It is filmed to look like one continuous shot, which required intricate planning for every scene.  The actors were required to know 15 pages of dialog and blocking to keep the number of cuts to a minimum.  The story also makes use of magical realism, where Riggan has supernatural abilities.  The film is very fascinating from a technical perspective.

The story is unique and interesting.  It is funny (dark comedy) and has fun with the reputations / public persona's of the cast and the film industry.  Michael Keaton, like his character Riggan, was the star of a popular superhero franchise (Batman) and then walked away.  Edward Norton and Mike have reputations for being difficult to work with.  There are other insider jokes about theater.

The cast is great and a great fit for their characters.  Keaton is perfect as Riggan.  Zach Galifianakis plays against type, and it works so well.  The score is mostly percussion pieces, which were written and performed by Antonio Sanchez.  It is a smart choice to focus on the drums, which add so much to the film and add to the intensity of the scenes.

A strong, interesting film, worth all the hype / accolades.

Birdman (2014) 119 minutes
Rating: R for language throughout, some sexual content and brief violence
Director: Alejandro Inarritu
Starring: Michael Keaton as Riggan Thomson
Edward Norton as Mike Shiner
Emma Stone as Sam Thomson
Naomi Watts as Lesley
Zach Galifianakis as Jake
Andrea Riseborough as Laura
Amy Ryn as Sylvia Thomson
Lindsay Duncan as Tabitha Dickinson