Review of Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) by Patrick C — 11 Jun 2015

Prepare to be blown away by Birdman, a sometimes scathing satire of Hollywood's ups and downs from an actor's POV. Academy members, especially the actor's branch, are bound to love it, and audiences will as well.

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, director of Oscar nominated downers like 21 Grams and Best Picture 2006 contender Babel - two films I loved - achieves a masterpiece with his latest creation. Inarritu is in Robert Altman territory here making mock of Hollywood avarice and actor's neuroses. And he gives Michael Keaton the comeback performance he so richly deserves. Keaton is phenomenal as Riggin Thomas, tortured by his professional and personal past and present: a broken marriage, failure as a parent, career suicide and financial calamity. And now as he sinks his life savings into a play, he has to deal with Edward Norton, a pretentious Broadway star who never sold out to play a super-hero and wants to get busy with Riggan's daughter played by Emma Stone. Stone is the best she's ever been, leaving her usual light-hearted effervescence behind to play the cold, betrayed Sam. Norton is on fire, the best he's been in a decade. Truly Birdman is an acting tour de force from the whole cast.

The script by a cadre of Inarritu teammates, some of whom worked on his 2010 Best Foreign Language Film nominee Biutiful - have carved out the best script of its kind since Shakespeare in Love. Gutsy to stick Hollywood's own success in its face and bemoan the loss of art to commerce. We here lines like "Popularity is the slutty little cousin of prestige" and "People, they love blood, they love action. Not this talky, depressing, philosophical bullshit." And the jabs at the likes of Michael Fassbender, Robert Downey Jr. and all the current caped crusaders are fast and furious.

I have to admit I love the blood and the action AND the depressing, philosophical bullshit too. I saw Interstellar and Birdman in the same weekend - two films at creative odds with each other - and experienced two of the very best films of the year. So there is a reason to love Hollywood and art after all. Birdman will be an across the board Oscar contender this year. Not to be missed.