Birdman
Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárritu / US, 2014 / 159 min.
Michael Keaton (Batman) plays the role of his life as the faded Hollywood star who tries to reanimate his career by acting on Broadway. Birdman shows the emptiness and the seductions of fame and prestige and won major Oscar awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Script and Cinematography.
The aging actor Riggan became popular thanks to his role in the superhero film Birdman but his star is fading. The only thing that can salvage his ego is to play a lead role on Broadway, but the try-outs are disastrous and nothing indicates it”ll be alright on the opening night. "You”re not an actor, you”re a celebrity," a particularly noxious theatre critic sneers. In a seemingly uninterrupted shot, Riggan wanders through the St James Theatre in New York City, a magnificent and spectacular feat that shows what cinema is capable of.
The spectre of Birdman himself hovers over it all – sometimes we catch a glimpse of his beaked mask and feathered cape, dripping poison in Riggan”s ear, like a malevolent Polonius.
Birdman is also a film about faces, and what you see the moment our masks crumble. Birdman has been hailed as a brilliant, post-modern meta-masterpiece. Also starring Edward Norton and Naomi Watts.
Details
Director
Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárritu
Production year
2014
Country
US
Original title
Birdman
Length
159 min.
Language
English
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