Review XCII
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance (2014)
I read about Alejandro González Iñárritu's latest flick Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) a little while back while searching for films I could potentially go see in the theatre. I kind of forgot about it until I happened to come across it again and realised it was playing in theatres. And then I was talking to someone and they told me the film, as well as the main actor, Michael Keaton, were getting a lot of praise. So there I set out on a Thursday evening (two weeks ago) to go watch the film instead of doing homework or studying.
Riggan (Keaton) is famous for being the star of three films about a superhero named Birdman. Now, years later, he's trying to leave his superhero persona behind and has decided to write the theatre adaptation of a novel. However, he'll have to deal with just-got-out-of-rehab daughter Sam (Emma Stone), friend-turned-attorney Jake (Zach Galifianakis), new Broadway star Lesley (Naomi Watts), newly-pregnant Laura (Andrea Riseborough), and crazy actor Mike (Edward Norton) before he can tackle Broadway and his inner demon.
Well, what can I say? The film was good! I won't go too much into the film since this review is long overdue, but I'll mention some key points that I liked about the film. One, the shot. That's right the shot. This film was one long shot. It never cut out - it just kept rolling. It made you feel uneasy at times because seriously, you never get a break. But it's also innovative and it really worked out well. Next, the acting! The acting was good. It flowed well, and yes, Michael Keaton was good. I was totally not expecting such a good performance. But it was worthy. As was everyone else. Thirdly, the message. I thought the message, while not executed to my liking all the time, was legit. I mean, it's not new, with 2014's Frank sharing a similar theme, but I liked Birdman a lot better than I did Frank, so it obviously did it well. Is art really about numbers now? Do we really need to always push all boundaries? Or can the artist just enjoy his art for the sake of his art? That scene where Michael Keaton talks to himself as Birdman was very hard-hitting, though I found it funny when I saw a brief mention of the film and that's the scene they chose to showcase. So there you go. The film kind of had this magic realism thing going on - which, as a prime example, would be how Gabriel García Márquez's Cien años de soledad book is written (highly recommended read, by the way!) - which I could see would throw people off. But honestly, it's executed well. Give it a chance. Kind of spoiler, but it's explained nearing the end of the film! Oh, yes, and the credits and titlescreen? I loved the way it was executed. Very clean!
I won't go ahead and say the film was flawless. I was a bit saddened at times that the message was so thrown at your face, but that's just me. I'm sure there are small details in the film that could be analysed, but the main message was not as hidden at times as I would have liked it to be. But really, I wasn't expecting 2001: A Space Odyssey cryptic, which is a good thing, because without having analysis upon analysis of that film, I would never have uncovered most of the enigma of that film. But still, sometimes I like major themes being left unexplained at times. ... Let me just drop this now.
Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) was a nice little piece of cinema that I was glad I got to watch in theatres. I can't say I'd recommend it for everyone, but if you're looking for something to explain all these superhero films coming out, then check it out. You won't be disappointed.
Also, the drums were a pretty freakin' cool idea. Cheers!
