Riggan Thompson (Michael Keaton) is an actor who enjoyed moderate success years ago with his superhero character named Birdman. Now, many years later, he is trying to revive his career with a stage adaptation of a Raymond Carver short story, that he has written, is directing and starring in. And it previews on Broadway tonight, but it is definitely not ready.
When a co-star, Ralph (Jeremy Shamos) is knocked unconscious during a final rehearsal, he storms out and quits the production, threatening to sue. Mind you, this isn't entirely a bad thing, as Riggan couldn't stand him, nor could Riggan's manager Jake (Zach Galifianakis).
Another co-star, Lesley (Naomi Watts) suggests her friend and fellow actor Mike Shiner (Edward Norton) to play the role, and he steps in (at incredibly short notice) and takes on the role that Ralph vacated.
Add to the mix Riggan's daughter Sam (Emma Stone), with whom he is relatively estranged, but trying to get back in touch with, and you have the ingredients for quite a confrontational story.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, Riggan is going slightly crazy, hearing Birdman's voice in his head, and believing himself to possess god-like powers of telekinesis and so on.
The very first thing anyone would notice about this film is the fact that it takes place entirely in one, two-hour long, camera shot (or at least it appears so, with some clever edits and camera tricks). The effect of this is in one sense unsettling, adding to the overall psychological feel of the film, and at the same time, drawing the audience right into the centre of the action from beginning to end.
It also works well as a parallel of the play that the film largely centres around, as there don't seem to be any 'edits', it all just feels like one long unified piece.
The script, by Alejandro G. Iñárritu & Nicolás Giacobone & Alexander Dinelaris & Armando Bo, which incidentally also won an Academy Award in 2014, is absolutely superb. Again, as with the single-camera-shot idea, the script feels very much like a stage play, as we observe these characters confronting one another throughout, and dealing with their conflicts largely through their dialogue, and so on, which is very much the way things are done in a stage play as opposed to a film.
Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography, already briefly mentioned above, also won him an Academy Award that same year, and rightly so in my opinion. The way this film has been shot is just so clever, and the use of shadow (predominantly to cover the edit points) is done so well. But trust me, the edits happen so quickly you won't notice them; the whole thing feels like one continuous moving shot, and Lubezki's talent in pulling this off to such an extent is clear.
The score by Antonio Sanchez consists entirely of a drum kit, which in some sections of the film, is actually part of the on-screen action (such as when Riggan and Shiner are walking down Broadway and walk past a busking drummer). As such, the score never takes away from anything happening on screen, and it certainly does not overpower the action at any point, as it is only the one instrument, and thanks to a decent sound mix, never stands out in any obtrusive sense.
I am a little reluctant to discuss the performances of the cast here, as I'm still not entirely sure how it is they are supposed to function. In the case of every single performer in the film, overacting seems to be the soup of the day, with no exceptions. When someone wants to make a point, they yell. If they need to show any emotion, they yell. The entire film feels like one big joke to everyone, it would seem.
However, I don't know if this is intentional - with the director making a statement about the nature of stage performers versus film performers - or if the cast are just plain bad at what they do. I tend to believe the former is true, as many of the cast have given amazing performances in other films they have done before and since.
Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu has made a wonderfully cinematic piece of art here, but it feels just a little too self-indulgent for my tastes. I'm not saying it's bad - because it's actually very good - but there's only so much of it I can take.
7 out of 10.
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