We all have that fear; the fear that only gets stronger as we grow up in a world that moves far faster than us. The fear is that of insignificance; is our life really meaningful? Does it have to be? Why does it have to be? Can true success really be repeated, or are we doomed to relish a single moment in the spotlight? These questions are at the forefront of Alejandro González Iñárritu's latest film Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).
Birdman follows Riggan Thompson (played by Michael Keaton), a washed up Hollywood actor who found fame leading the 'Birdman' superhero franchise in the 1990's. He is attempting to turn his life around and reignite his career by writing, directing and starring in a theatrical adaptation of Raymond Carver's book What we Talk about when we Talk about Love? After casting a well known but pretentious and unbearable actor (Edward Norton), Thompson suffers several problems, both artistically and personally, in the previews leading up to opening night...
The film opens with as unexpected an opening shot that you're likely to see all year (won't spoil) and with an epic narration to guide the image, the tone is firmly set. Iñárritu has provided us with something that few director/writers can claim they have in today's movie world; he has given us something truly original. This film has its own flavour from start to finish; there is something different about every angle we are presented with. From the direction and the script to the acting and the sets, everything feels out-with that of the average movie, which is ideal for what the film is trying to convey; the world far beyond that of the hollywood blockbuster. This world feels as new to us as it does to Thompson, who is way out of his element with his jump from film to theatre. Most of the film was shot on location in the St James Theatre on 44th St, New York City, with the occasional shift to other locations. This is perfect for Iñárritu to implement one of the film's focal points:
Birdman has some of the best and most well executed cinematography you're likely to see any time soon. The entire movie is made to appear as if it were filmed in a single continuous shot, with exceedingly inventive and almost unnoticeable ways of cutting the scenes together. To accommodate this, every scene is done using long tracking shots; this is very ambitious considering the size of the sets and the complexity with which they'd have to be carried out. However, the form always serves the substance with everyone in Iñárritu's cast/crew clearly rising to the occasion to provide a great scale, realism and brilliantly original view of Thompson's difficult life. The long drawn out nature of the shots really blurs the line between theatre and film, especially during the scenes that play out on a stage. This gives a much needed life to the theatrical elements of the actors performances, further demonstrating that there is still much for us to discover in both filmmaking and film viewing.
Michael Keaton has completely blown any of his other works to shame in his outstanding performance as Riggan Thompson. There is clearly a connection, however small, between Keaton's career and that of his character's. While Keaton has by no means had a washed up career to the same degree as Thompson, there are noticeable parallels that must have made him the only logical choice for the role. Most notably, Thompson and Keaton are both most popular for their superhero franchises, both of which were ended in 1992. It's connections like these that must have given Keaton a huge platform with which to draw real emotion from and the result is an easy shoe in for the 2015 Best Actor oscar.
The starry supporting cast are on fire in the film; Edward Norton, Emma Stone and Zack Galifianakis are the primary supporting roles and they are all outstanding. Norton plays his pretentious and super irritating stage actor to perfection, Emma Stone is on point as Thompson's recovering drug addict daughter and Galifianakis is surprisingly but superbly understated as Thompson's best friend/Lawyer. The remaining supporting cast are all brilliant, but can sometimes feel a little under-utilised considering the importance some of them have in Thompson's life. Regardless of their use or lack thereof, the cast as a whole are one of the best and most complete casts in recent memory with everyone putting in career highs for this film.
The soundtrack is beyond doubt my favourite film soundtrack in a long time. The film's original music is purely done on drum kit (played by the film's composer, Mexican drummer Antonio Sanchez), using jazz licks and funky grooves to progress the film's mood. The drumming is fantastic and really sells the drum kit as not only a musical instrument, but an emotional one as well. As the story changes and the situations differ, so too does the drum kit, creating tension where necessary and a couple of drummers even appears throughout the film as buskers to ground the music within the story. The creative team clearly made a real effort to give us an original and unfamiliar soundtrack to match the unpredictability of the film and what we get is a 100% awesome and original soundtrack.
Overall Alejandro González Iñárritu has given us a fantastically funny and original satire of the show-business world. With a stunning cast, phenomenal cinematography and an outstanding soundtrack, Birdman has set an almost impossibly high bar for the rest of 2015's releases. One of my favourite lines from the film is 'Popularity is the slutty little cousin of prestige' and I mean it when I say that Birdman deserves both in bucket loads.
Birdman follows Riggan Thompson (played by Michael Keaton), a washed up Hollywood actor who found fame leading the 'Birdman' superhero franchise in the 1990's. He is attempting to turn his life around and reignite his career by writing, directing and starring in a theatrical adaptation of Raymond Carver's book What we Talk about when we Talk about Love? After casting a well known but pretentious and unbearable actor (Edward Norton), Thompson suffers several problems, both artistically and personally, in the previews leading up to opening night...
The film opens with as unexpected an opening shot that you're likely to see all year (won't spoil) and with an epic narration to guide the image, the tone is firmly set. Iñárritu has provided us with something that few director/writers can claim they have in today's movie world; he has given us something truly original. This film has its own flavour from start to finish; there is something different about every angle we are presented with. From the direction and the script to the acting and the sets, everything feels out-with that of the average movie, which is ideal for what the film is trying to convey; the world far beyond that of the hollywood blockbuster. This world feels as new to us as it does to Thompson, who is way out of his element with his jump from film to theatre. Most of the film was shot on location in the St James Theatre on 44th St, New York City, with the occasional shift to other locations. This is perfect for Iñárritu to implement one of the film's focal points:
Birdman has some of the best and most well executed cinematography you're likely to see any time soon. The entire movie is made to appear as if it were filmed in a single continuous shot, with exceedingly inventive and almost unnoticeable ways of cutting the scenes together. To accommodate this, every scene is done using long tracking shots; this is very ambitious considering the size of the sets and the complexity with which they'd have to be carried out. However, the form always serves the substance with everyone in Iñárritu's cast/crew clearly rising to the occasion to provide a great scale, realism and brilliantly original view of Thompson's difficult life. The long drawn out nature of the shots really blurs the line between theatre and film, especially during the scenes that play out on a stage. This gives a much needed life to the theatrical elements of the actors performances, further demonstrating that there is still much for us to discover in both filmmaking and film viewing.
Michael Keaton has completely blown any of his other works to shame in his outstanding performance as Riggan Thompson. There is clearly a connection, however small, between Keaton's career and that of his character's. While Keaton has by no means had a washed up career to the same degree as Thompson, there are noticeable parallels that must have made him the only logical choice for the role. Most notably, Thompson and Keaton are both most popular for their superhero franchises, both of which were ended in 1992. It's connections like these that must have given Keaton a huge platform with which to draw real emotion from and the result is an easy shoe in for the 2015 Best Actor oscar.
The starry supporting cast are on fire in the film; Edward Norton, Emma Stone and Zack Galifianakis are the primary supporting roles and they are all outstanding. Norton plays his pretentious and super irritating stage actor to perfection, Emma Stone is on point as Thompson's recovering drug addict daughter and Galifianakis is surprisingly but superbly understated as Thompson's best friend/Lawyer. The remaining supporting cast are all brilliant, but can sometimes feel a little under-utilised considering the importance some of them have in Thompson's life. Regardless of their use or lack thereof, the cast as a whole are one of the best and most complete casts in recent memory with everyone putting in career highs for this film.
The soundtrack is beyond doubt my favourite film soundtrack in a long time. The film's original music is purely done on drum kit (played by the film's composer, Mexican drummer Antonio Sanchez), using jazz licks and funky grooves to progress the film's mood. The drumming is fantastic and really sells the drum kit as not only a musical instrument, but an emotional one as well. As the story changes and the situations differ, so too does the drum kit, creating tension where necessary and a couple of drummers even appears throughout the film as buskers to ground the music within the story. The creative team clearly made a real effort to give us an original and unfamiliar soundtrack to match the unpredictability of the film and what we get is a 100% awesome and original soundtrack.
Overall Alejandro González Iñárritu has given us a fantastically funny and original satire of the show-business world. With a stunning cast, phenomenal cinematography and an outstanding soundtrack, Birdman has set an almost impossibly high bar for the rest of 2015's releases. One of my favourite lines from the film is 'Popularity is the slutty little cousin of prestige' and I mean it when I say that Birdman deserves both in bucket loads.