(May Contain Spoilers)
Despite this film winning multiple Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Original Screenplay, the film felt empty. Perhaps this was due to Riggan’s (Michael Keaton) deflated demeanour as an actor trying to reclaim his fame. Comparable to the Black Swan (2010), where Nina (Natalie Portman) is so invested in her character she begins to become it; similarly, Riggan who is haunted by his past role as Birdman, which made him famous. Riggan tries to escape his Birdman type cast by writing, directing and starring in his own adaptation of Raymond Carver short story ‘What We Talk About When We Talk About Love’. The faded actor begins to go insane and hearing Birdman’s inner voice mocking him he attempts to commit suicide.
Going back a little bit to explain the plot a little more, Birdman is set around New York’s St James Theatre, which is where Riggan is debuting his play. One night before the plays preview and a light fixture falls onto one of the main actor’s head, so he has to be replaced immediately – as the show must go on – co-star Lesley (Naomi Watts) suggests her boyfriend and actor Mike (Edward Norton) for the role. It follows that Ralph takes on the role, however as a method actor takes the performance too far by drinking during the performance and breaks character when it is replaced and trying to rape Lesley during a sex scene on stage. Meanwhile Riggan’s co-star and girlfriend Laura (Andrea Riseborough) thinks she might be pregnant but is a false alarm.
Riggan’s daughter and recovering drug addict, Sam (Emma Stone), is working in the costume department and has a row with Riggan after he catches her smoking marijuana. The play goes through its trials and tribulations, as one night Riggan manages to accidently look himself outside and has to continue to play by walking through Times Square to get to the front of the theatre entrance, which is captured on a video that goes viral. In addition, the New York Times journalist’s interviews Mike who takes credit for the play and Riggan also has an argument with critic Tabitha (Lindsay Duncan), who says she will give him a bad review no matter what. Finally, on opening night, Sylvia (Amy Ryan), Riggan’s ex-wife, visits him in his dressing room and he confesses to hearing voices and trying to commit suicide one before when she found out that he had cheated, but she dismisses this. As the final scene takes place, Riggan’s character holds a gun to his head to commit suicide, however Riggan uses a real gun instead of the prop but results in him ending up in hospital the next day. Sam goes to visit Riggan, who seems to have jumped out the window, but Sam looks up to the sky and smiles, indicating that he is flying and truly is Birdman.
I thought the performances were great, I thought the cinematography and the innovation of the one continuous shot was done incredibly well. The continuous shot can also be seen in other Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s work, including The Revenant (2015). I did enjoy this film, however the grittiness was missing for me, although they included the subject of suicide, I think the ending with Sam looking up and Riggan flying away brought the film down; I think I would have felt more satisfaction if he died, which is quite controversial to say. I think Riggan story arch was quite depressing all the way through and there weren’t too may moment of light and shade, which I think the film could have benefited from. When we saw Birdman as a character I also brought me out of the movie and felt it was trying to be two things, which is why it wasn't to my taste as much. Overall a big fan of the film’s innovation and storyline, however felt the drama lacked the grittiness of going all the way. Worth a watch for the cinematography and direction alone. Dark, Emotional and captivating.
Available to stream now on Netflix.
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