Release date: 11 August 2017
Run time: 101 minutes
Certificate: 15
Alejandro González Iñárritu has found great success, both critically and commercially, for his before and after Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014). He guided a touching insight into a man's demise from prostate cancer with the foreign language film Biutiful (2010). His msot recent endeavour, The Revenant (2015) was a raw and beautiful survival film set in the 1800s. It is something, then, that Iñárritu’s Birdman is without a doubt his best yet; a film full of cinematic delight, powerful lead performances, and a punchy social commentary.
Much like Iñárritu’s previous films, there is a distinctly humanistic feel to Birdman. The character’s struggles all seem real and possible. Much of this is owed to the actors’ performances. Michael Keaton plays the once famous, now washed up, actor, Riggan Thomson, who is trying his hand at Broadway after making his name as the titular role in the Birdman films of the 1990s. He is a man never in control and it is frequently heartbreaking to see. Talking to his own visions of Birdman and floating meditation in his dressing room are among the weirdest and best moments. His wacky powerhouse performance is backed up splendidly by Emma Stone as Thomson’s daughter and recovering drug addict, bringing another level of rawness and honesty. Edward Norton, playing an acclaimed and arrogant actor is deplorable in his conduct and a notable representation of the Me Too movement. These three actors, as well as others (Zach Galifianakis as Riggan's PA brings a zany, energetic humour to the film) bring comedy but above all naturalism. We feel their very real struggles. We are captivated by their monologues, the camera sweeping to close-ups of their faces. We are very much involved in each of their lives.
Emmanuel Lubezski, a 3 time Oscar winner and one of the most innovative cinematographers in film history, lends his trademark techniques to Birdman. Utilising continuous uninterrupted shots, Birdman is a fluid, seemingly one-take journey through this Broadway world, leaving the audience immersed to the highest degree. Such immersion is further amplified by the acting. There is rarely a single moment for breath or rest (there isn't for Riggan Thomson, so why for you?) as the camera sweeps beautifully throughout the theatre and bars and streets of Broadway for two hours, stopping only at times for close-ups of the character's faces, masterfully deployed to bear the characters in all their human glory to us.
Simply put, Birdman is a satirical triumph. Iñárritu comments brilliantly on film and theatre of the modern day, on Hollywood, Broadway, and the actors who take to the screen and stage. It is a weirdly wonderful film, complete with a disorientating score and some hallucinations from Riggan Thomson thrown in for good measure. He painfully longs for his moment in the spotlight of the 1990s, when he was the Birdman. It is all at once a heart-wrenching and comical masterpiece that should not be missed.
5/5
A soaring cinematic triumph. Birdman will live on throughout film history as a classic of 21st century cinema.