Favorites of 2014- Birdman

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Starring: Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone
Directed by:  Alejandro González Iñárritu


Plot Summary: Riggan Thompson is an actor struggling to break free from his early roles in the Birdman superhero films decades earlier. Trying to reinvent himself, Riggan has spent time writing, directing, and starring in a Broadway adaptation of Raymond Carver's short story "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love," but the play has been plagued by issues. Among the issues has been the antics of method actor Mike Shiner, a biased critic who plans to kill the play with her review, Riggan's dysfunctional relationship with his recovering addict daughter and assistant Sam, and Riggan's deteriorating mental health, as he is constantly mocked by the voice of Birdman and believes he has the power of telekinesis and levitation. With so much adversity, Riggan knows he needs to really impress the critics and skeptics on opening night and would do anything to prove he is a serious actor and not just a former superhero.


In early 2015, I achieved a landmark never done before in my years of movie reviewing: I saw all the films that were nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. That's a grand total of 8 films, which I tracked down to my local movie theaters and dragged my poor fiancee in terrible snowy weather to see all of them (you'd think she would've left me for that). All of these were done in about 2 or 3 weeks of each other, and I really have one film to thank for inspiring me: Birdman. I remember my experience VERY vividly. I very rarely embark on seeing the arthouse, independent movies that cinefiles love to chat about, but this one felt different. The reviews and press this movie was getting was phenomenal. Add a phenomenal cast and a concept that speaks to both my inner theatre kid and my love of superhero movies, and I felt I needed to see it as soon as possible. I watched it, I loved it, and I was excited to see it nominated for Best Picture. I was then inspired to watch the other 7 nominees, and I kept going back to how much I was wowed by Birdman. Only ONE of those other 7 movies spoke to me with the same magnitude, which I'll talk about next time. But for now, let's look at the film that started my cinematic odyssey and eventually won the Oscar for Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Picture.

Michael Keaton stars as Riggan Thompson in the performance of his career. I'll say it right now: Keaton was ROBBED at the Oscars. He put his heart and soul into Riggan, with a lot of his character development reflecting how Keaton must've struggled being taken seriously after playing Batman. That really helped him feel at home when he's playing Riggan. My absolute favorite scenes of his are when he's by himself, struggling with the voices in his head. He has to act against himself and creates two different personalities clashing (kind of like a human version of Gollum). Keaton's always been one of my favorite actors, ever since I saw Batman and Beetlejuice, and this role absolutely seals that fact. I hope to see great things from Keaton now that he's bounced back with the success of Birdman.

Keaton's not the only actor to bring it in this film. With an amazing supporting cast, it's easy to say that Birdman was one of the best acted movies of the year. There are so many memorable performances, starting with Edward Norton as method actor Mike Shiner. Shiner is the epitome of a diva in the world of theatre. He's confident in his abilities, but takes it too far. He cares about the performance so much, but potentially sabotages the shows with his antics. Norton really fits this role well, and a lot of that's probably fueled by his reputation in Hollywood of being difficult to work with. Another great performance is Emma Stone as Riggan's daughter Sam. Sam's a very unique character in having two important relationships with the main characters. She has to have a dysfunctional father/daughter relationship with Riggan, while also having a flirty relationship with Shiner. Emma's given a lot to do with the role and makes the most out of her scenes, usually being the one to put certain characters in their place. Naomi Watts also does a great job playing Lesley, an actress struggling with the pressure of being on Broadway for the first time. Her biggest relationship is with Shiner, with them constantly bickering behind the scenes. Even Zach Galifianakis does a good job at playing Riggan's friend Jake. He curses up a storm which is actually pretty hilarious if you've seen him avoid cussing in most of his movie roles.

Looking at this movie at a glance, you may be surprised to know it won Best Cinematography. But look very closely at HOW this film looks. There's something special about it. Figured it out yet? Well, let me ask you this: How long did it take you to realize the film is shot to look like one long take? For me, about 10 minutes in the theater. And when I realized it, my mind was blown and I continued to follow the camera waiting to see if it would cut to anything else. The way the scenes transition and the ways the camera moves throughout the theater, following different plot points and characters is very creative. The camera movement actually helps the pacing of the movie (making two hours go by really quickly) and actually feels like it could be an extra character in all the chaos.

Another fun aspect of Birdman is analyzing all the social commentaries it addresses. Whether its commentaries about summer blockbusters, superhero films, moviegoers, critics, theatre, or anything else, the film is always saying something with a purpose. It's not to be mean, though. It's to say it like it is. I particularly loved listening to the commentaries on how moviegoers hate to see movies about deep conversations and would prefer a film with special effects and explosions. Again, not being mean, just stating the facts. But the irony of it is that the commentary is being expressed DURING a film with deep conversations, featuring a scene with special effects and explosions. To even further the irony of the statement, people DID care about the film with deep conversations since people flocked to the movie theater to see Birdman after hearing about the universal critical acclaim.

So then the big question with Birdman is did it deserve to win Best Picture? My response to that is that it absolutely DESERVED to win Best Picture. It had an excellent screenplay, fantastic directing, a terrific ensemble cast, and a unique framing device for its cinematography. It has all the combined facets that a Best Picture winner should have. However, when looking at my favorite films of 2014, Birdman is my second favorite. It's a close battle for me, but one other film from 2014 was just as enjoyable as Birdman, and is my personal favorite of the year. I'll get to that one next time, but don't let that discourage my thoughts on Birdman. The two films are apples and oranges types of movies, both are instant favorites and worthy of perfect scores from yours truly, but in a life or death (hypothetical) situation, and I had to pick one over the other, then Birdman would ever so politely be put to the side.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I LOVE this movie. Birdman was a film that threw so many things to me at once and everything just clicked together. The plot, the commentaries, the cast, the cinematography, all of it is phenomenal. Every moviegoer should add this film to their collection immediately to see what everyone's been talking about. This is a film you'll be revisiting over and over again.

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)  and movie images are copyrighted by Fox Searchlight Pictures