So Birdman was always going to be
challenging. A film that is loved by critics but mehed by audiences is
bound to not be the easiest thing to watch. Still, a film that stars
Michael Keaton as a man living in the shadow of his former career as a
superhero trying to reinvent himself on stage has a lot of levels (or should
that be “is very meta”) from the get go.
That meta-ness does not make the film easy to watch,
especially with an occasionally very irritating and distracting percussion
soundtrack beating its way through a lot of it. Add on top of that
Keaton’s flights perception of events and of how he influences the world, and
some rather lengthy exchanges on many deep and meaningful things, and I have to
say even I found the running time a trifle on the long side and found myself
looking at my watch every so often.
Of course, I was hypnotised whenever Edward Norton and
Emma Stone were on screen, not just because Emma Stone has eyes that are bigger
than the size of her head or the eyes of anything on the Happy Tree
Friends. Both of these actors are engrossing in their portrayal of
broken, tortured souls, Norton an actor who shines on the stage but is a bit of
a dick off it, Stone as the Birdman’s daughter, trying to recover from a drug
addiction by acting as her father’s PA.
Around the big three are other top notch performances,
with Lindsay Duncan as the ball busting theatre critic, Zach Galifinakis acting
against type and actually acting (surprised the hell out of me – I was
impressed!) as the Birdman’s lawyer, and Naomi Watts playing a struggling actor
yet again, though she doesn’t quite have the chance to shine as she did in the
classic Mulholland Drive – but I digress.
The movie all progresses as if it was filmed in one long,
uncut shot, though it is obvious with the time shifts and the like that the
film is not uninterrupted. We follow the cast as they weave through the
narrow corridors of the theatre, out into the broader alleyways and streets of
the New York theatre circuit outside. Mainly, the film feels
claustrophobic and tense, enhancing the feeling of trepidation the whole cast
feel as they complete the final rehearsals before the grand opening of their
new play.
As much as I was occasionally distracted by some of the
more lengthy (and drum heavy) scenes, I have to say I enjoyed most of the
film. Until the very end that is, when the resolution led to a few… well,
lets just say it took a few turns I was not on board for it to take.
Flights of fancy and the imagination during the film, I could handle, but it
all got laid on a bit thick at the end, and that I was not overly impressed by.
My companions were also a bit sceptical, but seemed more
critical of the film than I. It is not necessarily a film everyone will
like off the bat, if at all. Sure, we all acknowledged the brilliance of
the film, the innovation (well, kind of) and the impressive performances, but
it is one thing to appreciate everything a film like this brings to the table
and presents, but its another thing to actually like it.
Verdict: Birdman is a challenging watch and
probably a bit long at just around 2 hours running time. Still, with some
truly stupendous performances from the extraordinary cast, there is a lot to
appreciate up on the screen and to enjoy, though perhaps not necessarily as a
whole. 7 eggs out of 10.
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