Review of Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) by Sam W — 27 Sep 2016

THERE'S a scene at the end of Alejandro González Iñárritu's 2014 black comedy. In the scene, without spoiling it's memorable conclusion, Emma Stone's character looks down at the ground, and as she turns her focus to the sky, she starts to smile. A cut to black and you hear her laughing.

There are some key differences between Stone's character and I. The main one at that moment - she smiled for a brief second at the end, whilst I was smiling the whole time.

The film, usually referred to as simply BIRDMAN, was directed by Iñárritu and written by him and three others (but you wouldn't be able to tell). The 2014 Oscar winner stars Michael Keaton as the titular character, Edward Norton as a method actor, Stone as Keaton's daughter, Zach Galifianakis as the assistant, Amy Ryan as Stone's mother and ex-wife to Keaton, Andrea Riseborough as a newcomer to Broadway, and Naomi Watts as Norton's girlfriend. The film received major critical praise when it was released on October 17, 2014, and ended up grossing in the 9 digits. The film went on to be nominated for 9 Oscars, winning 4, including Best Picture.

Everyone in the cast, specifically Keaton, are immaculate in their roles. Keaton and Norton seem to literally embody their roles because of how meta their characters are - Keaton plays an actor who used to play a superhero but rejected an offer for a sequel and became obscure, while Norton has been known to be tough to get along with. Emma Stone gives her best performance as an addict just out of rehab and her relationship with her father makes for an interesting dynamic.

The star of the film, however, is none of the characters, or it's Oscar winning direction from Iñárritu, for that matter. No, the real showstopper is the cinematography, from fellow Mexican and 3 time Oscar winner Emmanuel Lubezki. The film is designed to look as if it was done in a single take - as either a way to show the inability to escape the path of emotion, like the director has claimed, or to mirror a Broadway play (the film centers around a play).

There isn't a single flaw noticeable throughout the entire film. I strongly urge anybody with a brain and a heart to watch this modern masterpiece.