Film Review: Birdman
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Birdman‘s full title is Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) but it should probably be called Birdman or (How a Movie Can Have Great Elements and Still Not Work). That’s probably the best way to describe the movie which admittedly has some amazing elements that can’t be denied. It certainly has a startling vision from director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, wonderful cinematography from Emmanuel Lubezki, one of the best sound mixes I’ve ever heard and some delightful performances and yet…I left the movie feeling unwhelmed and detached. This isn’t to say that a movie has to be crowd pleasing or warm, but I felt the movie kept me at a distance and didn’t let me fully embrace the spikes and dementedness.
Which is strange given that the subject matter (Broadway, black comedy, good acting) that the movie didn’t connect with me. Birdman tells the story of a semi-washed up former superhero actor played with gusto by Michael Keaton, who has adapted, directed and is starring in a play on Broadway. He’s being plaugued by voices in his head, the pressure of trying to reinvent himself and a cast that includes his girlfriend and a budding Boradway ingenue (late in her career). When the production is forced to recast a part after a freak accident and they bring in a rambunctious actor named Mike, the movie hits another gear as opening night and the vision and voices reach their crescendo.
This might be all the information you’ll need to know in order to understand the film, or at least be intrigued to go see it. And while I’m not the biggest fan of the film, I do encourage folks to see Birdman. Why then did I not feel the love others seemed to get from the film? I think the biggest issue for me was the script which wrestles with some interesting ideas and tries to say a lot without saying anything. The movie has four screenwriters and it often feels like it. The movie can’t decide whether its a searing Broadway satire, a takedown of celebrity culture, or a tone poem to aging and throughout the movie I felt like I was being jerked around. When a movie has no center, and Birdman does not, you end up feeling let down by the message(s). More importantly, I think Birdman wants to be this Jean-Luc Goddard for the new generation type film and much like Goddard often confuses loudness with saying something important. Nothing might drive this point home than a scene with our protagonist and a theater critic that’s so sneering in its delivery that you can’t do more than roll your eyes.
However, there are some positive elements of the film especially in the tech areas. Lubezki, who finally won an Oscar for Gravity, is as eye-poppingly good as ever with his compositions and lighting in Birdman, although I wish I hadn’t known the film was edited to look like one shot because I spent just as much time trying to find the edit points as I did being wowed by the camera movement. I was also astounded by the sound mix; Birdman is one of the best sounding films I’ve ever experienced. Those clock ticks when you’re in his dressing room, that drum score, those voices…this movie is aurally astounding.
What keeps Birdman humming along more than the tech aspects is the acting. Michael Keaton, long gone from the movie screens, channels every ounce of gusto he has and draws on his former superhero past to craft such a fun performance. Matching him is a cavalcade of actors that never eclipse Keaton, but threaten to take the movie away from him. Of them, Zach Galifinakis, Edward Norton, and Amy Ryan proved to be my favorites, and its always welcome to see Emma Stone get a juicy role to sink her teeth in.
Birdman might not be the perfect film for me, but I certainly think it’s worth a watch.
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