Review of Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) by Felicia T — 17 May 2015

Equally inventive, humorous, well-acted, as well as intelligent, but also slightly pretentious and a bit gimmicky, Birdman is an interesting film. It's a film that serves to pulverize or ingratiate with its quirkiness or originality, depending on how one interprets it. It's a black comedy, a character study, and perhaps a tragedy. Above all, it's memorable.

The film follows a washed-up former blockbuster star as he endeavors to prove his dramatic talent by putting on a Broadway play. Along the way he must contend not only with the nightmare logistics, but also his alter-ego, who continually questions his decisions and worth.

The script was sharp and offered a lot of higher brow humor mixed in with some witty dialogue. It was stylized in parts, though not overly so for most of its run. The narrative was kept largely focused, and we are totally transformed in to the film's world. We get a unique view of not only the theater system, but also an insightful commentary on us, the viewing public, and our narcissistic, attention obsessed society.

The performances have been rightly lauded, with Michael Keaton being nothing short of brilliant. The entire cast is in fact exceptional, with Edward Norton bringing a lot of self-parody and charm to his role. The direction keeps the film running briskly; it's always engaging, and never dry. If there's criticism to be had, one would have to say that the third act gets overly indulgent. His other persona becomes more of a distraction than an actual service to the narrative and the realism is sacrificed. The ending note is also unduly ambiguous and pretentious.

Overall, well worth a watch.

4/5 Stars.