I actually had a dream like Birdman once, a year or two ago. Instead of a Broadway theatre, it was a school hall and I went through the same motions as Micheal Keaton. I was directing a play with Edward Norton but he was slowly turning the cast against me. Quite bizarrely, he decided to take the cast outside to play soccer and as they left, I immediately called my agent or the producers or whoever to inform them how Edward Norton is ruining my production, let me tell you, I felt Micheal Keaton’s rage as I stormed out of the hall and yelled, almost screamed out, “DON’T FU** WITH ME! I TOLD THEM ABOUT YOU! DON’T YOU EVER TRY AND FU** WITH ME!”. The rage was so cathartic as if it was pulled from an argument I desperately needed the last word of. It was so satisfying, yet I still wanted more. The most bizarre part about this dream? I only watched the film in full a few days ago.
‘Birdman’ was the Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay Oscar winner of 2014, directed by Alejandro Gonzalez, who also directed ‘The Revenant’, ‘Amores Perros’. You know how people thought ‘1917’ was so innovative in its cinematography, making it look like the whole film was one take? Take a look at ‘Birdman’ because Gonzalez struck before Mendes. For a long while, I never watched this film, maybe I wasn’t enticed enough, maybe it was at the time I was getting into really ridiculous and fantasy-based cinema, but I finally sat down to watch it in full a few days ago, and I loved it.
Micheal Keaton plays Riggan Thomson, an actor most famous for the Birdman superhero franchise (reminds me of another film…), who is leading a production of ‘What We Talk About When We Talk About Love’. Unfortunately for him, he’s stuck facing issues with his new role as both actor and director, including annoying actors, going over budget and having to ensure the play is perfect on opening night, showing the world that he’s more than just Birdman. When Riggan hires Mike Shiner, famous theatre actor, this creates even more chaos, with Shiner openly battling with Riggan, changing dialogue, drinking alcohol onstage and upstaging him whenever he can. Riggan must find a way to control everything and keep his cool if he has any chance of this play becoming a success.
Of course, Keaton is a perfect choice for Riggan, just replacing Batman with Birdman brings a nice sense of reality to the film. Suddenly, we’re watching a documentary of Keaton trying to escape all the DC fans begging him for another film. After ‘The Flash’ though, this film is much more comedic, I highly recommend watching a few clips from ‘Flash’ right after you finish ‘Birdman’. But Keaton doesn’t have to rely on his roles in Tim Burton films to excel as Riggan, he masters every instance of pent-up frustration of Hollywood actors not being taken seriously. His best scene, in my opinion, has him venting his frustrations about the audience to a reviewer, discussing how actors put in an unbelievable amount of work just to be scorned. Edward Norton was also a perfect choice for Mike Shiner, I feel that Gonzalez based both characters on their actors, basing Mike Shiner on Norton’s previous instances of being hard to deal with on set, such as his takeover of ‘American History X’’s editing, his arguments with Marvel during ‘The Incredible Hulk’, this film feels only semi-fictional. Just like Keaton, Norton nails his antagonist persona, strutting his pompous attitude, his artistic superiority, which just creates that much more of a tension during his scenes with Keaton. Emma Stone plays Sam, Riggan’s daughter who mostly plays a straight character, seeing through Riggan’s illusions of grandeur and Shiner’s charms. Stone portrays the character marvellously, showing Sam has her heart in the right place, but slowly revealing she’s just as flawed as everyone else, flirting with Shiner and refusing Riggan even a chance at making amends.
The last element the film succeeds with is its multiple morals and interpretations. Could the film be about our fear of being forgotten, so we have to force our way back into the spotlight? Could it be about the tedious over-popularity of celebrities, how we everywhere we go we see Brangelina, the Kardashians and Tom Holland and Zendaya? Could it be just as simple as a theatrical representation of the modern workplace, toxic co-workers everywhere, threatening to steal your credit, the manager trying to look good in front of the bosses and workplace romances crumbling? Maybe it’s Gonzalez’s own fantasy football team of actors?
Mason’s Top 3 Reasons To Watch ‘Birdman’
- A hilarious sense of irony after Keaton’s rigged Batman return
- An insightful commentary on how much celebrities are able to get away with
- Multiple perspectives on art, whether the audience is right, whether the artist is right and the cruel spectator sport that its become.
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