Birdman (2014)

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (R)

"What are we doing here?  This place smells like balls..."

An actor famous for a Superhero film-series he abandoned decades ago is attempting to reclaim his artistry by staging a Broadway play he writes, directs and stars in.  When the inevitable financial/personal/critical/midlife/familial crises hit(s), will his gravely blockbuster past help or hinder his efforts at an artistic reawakening?  Or will the wings of fame and infamy be a drag on his endeavors (and mental stability) as he navigates a reality filled with unfulfillment and social-media, in director Alejandro Gonzalles Iñárritu's (Babel) dazzling masterpiece of technical skill and artistic identity.

Michael Keaton plays former Birdman star Riggan Thomson, a role both written for him and could-only-star him.  The entire film is a  mise en scène of Art-Reflecting-Life, as Keaton gets the role of a lifetime just as his character strives for the same on stage (on screen).  Keaton is fantastic, reminding us just how funny and energetically charismatic he can be, even as he chews the scenery with new found beak of savagery.  The voice of Batman, er, Birdman, echoes through Riggan's life as he tries to spread his wings and regain his self-worth.  The other characters surrounding him fit naturally, sometimes dominating other times merely complimenting his story.  His daughter just out of rehab is Emma Stone, his glory-hogging co-star is played by a very naked Ed Norton, his best friend and over-fawning producer Zack Galifnackis, his exwife, his current lover, his critic, his adoring fans, his stage hands, they form a wonderful small world on Broadway in the big world of New York that they live and breathe in.

Meanwhile, the camera and soundtrack cannot be ignored as the windowless entry into this world.  The lens itself is very subjective, the film is mostly strung-out to appear as one long continuous shot.  While this isn't a new idea, the amount of digital compositing and the amount of movement involved is to tremendous effect.  As the camera swoops around, through and in the space with the actors as their long takes roll on, it builds a visual pattern that you fall in love with immediately,even as they break it to great effect.  Unlike the film cameras used in Orson Welle's day as in Touch Of Evil's historic opening long take, digital can run on longer than the 8 minutes or so a reel of physical film does.  And while it might be a tiny bit distracting looking for those long-intervaled seams (and they do exist), the technical know-how and skill to pull it off is astonishing and drives the play-like quality of the film.  As is the jazzy beatnick score; it has been a long time since a musical soundtrack both complimented dialogue and driven emotional impact of scenes this flawlessly.  Switching between a bebop staccato drum beat and pieces of classical loveliness, the sounds intertwine with the floating camera to create a hiphop-hypnotic effect that Birdman will long be famous for.

The entire film is showpiece after showpiece.  While showcasing dynamic acting with heart-felt performances from all the principles actors on stage and onscreen, it is simultaneously showcasing camera technique and CG integration to an ungodly level, directed with sincerity and obtaining greatness.  Technology complimenting art, Art imitating life, This is Life on the wing of Birdman,

9.5 Curtain Calls out of 10 (OUTSTANDING)