Perhaps the most surprising thing about 2014’s Best Picture winner is how entertaining it can be to watch completely unlikable people being unpleasant to each other. We see it and excuse it because these are famous actors, and this kind of bad behavior is expected of them. These prima donnas crave our adoration and our attention while at the same time doing things that we would ordinarily condemn in anyone else. We see Michael Keaton and Edward Norton behaving badly, and it triggers something in our minds that reminds us of a similar thing we read about, heard, or even saw a celebrity do in the past. Maybe this is a celebrity you love, maybe not. Either way, there is that hero worship in many people that overlooks this behavior and goes on worshipping this individual. This feeling of recognition permeates Birdman and makes viewing it at times a bit uncomfortable. By the time we get to the end, there is a confusion over whether we should be elevated or brought down by what we’ve just seen, perhaps both at the same time.
Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu is taking a deep look at his own ego and insecurities in this script. This is something innate in the entertainment industry, yet it touches the lives of virtually everyone. We all strive to matter, not just to ourselves but to those around us, too. For an entertainer that is elevated to the audience watching them in the theater. For a movie actor/director/writer, etc., that can be extended even further as in order to be successful, you have to appeal to millions of people. The thought of that is enough to nearly drive anyone insane. You have to have a massive ego to strive for that over and over again, and the ones who manage to do so successfully over an entire lifetime are often the ones who are the most neurotic about their image and their craft. It would seem enviable to be a massively successful entertainer while not caring how the world reacts to you. To be that talented and carefree would be absolute bliss.
Unfortunately, many performers find themselves pigeonholed in such a way that they cannot escape it. Actors get known as action stars or get saddled with a character they once played, and no one can see them as anything else. I once read that Patrick Stewart—who is an amazing actor—was once turned down for a role because the director didn’t want Jean-Luc Picard in his film. Fortunately, not all directors are so shortsighted. When an actor needs to reinvent himself or herself, sometimes a change of scenery is in order, such as taking to the stage after success on the big screen. Daniel Radcliffe, for instance, followed up Harry Potter with a successful run of Equus on the stages of New York. People flocked to the theater wanting to get a glimpse at Harry Potter on stage, stubbornly refusing to see the actor through the character. The best egos can get past that; the lesser ones fumble and accept defeat.
Riggan (Michael Keaton) is at that crossroads. He has had some hits in the past playing the superhero Birdman in a string of films but wants to be taken seriously as an actor again. To accomplish this, he has chosen to write, direct, and star in an adaptation of a Raymond Chandler story. During one of the rehearsals, though, a falling light injures his costar, and he has to find a replacement quickly. Into the story comes Mike (Edward Norton), the boyfriend of one of the stars. Mike is the epitome of the self-important actor. He’s rude and arrogant and is not afraid to stop a performance during a test screening because he sees something he doesn’t like in the production. He’s also apparently incapable of being aroused unless he is on stage and uses that to attempt to rape his costar during a live performance. He looks down on film actors, seeing what he does as real acting. He’s also attracted to Riggan’s adult daughter. This combination of things threatens to push Riggan over the edge.
Riggan starts the film already nearing the breaking point. The film utilizes daydream imagery to get this point across. By virtue of the way this film is shot, however, we don’t get quick-cuts to bring us back to reality. Alejandro has chosen to shoot this film to look like one solid shot from beginning to end. By doing that, the daydream elements blend into the reality in such a way that the whole film has a surreal feel to it. Riggan will suddenly be spinning an object with his mind or throwing things around his dressing room telepathically, and it just blends into the reality of the situation. In one particularly memorable moment, he leaps off the roof of the theater and flies around the city streets like he really is Birdman. Flames crash to the ground, and giant mechanical monsters cause havoc. The film is narrated by his character, Birdman, and occasionally he appears just over Riggan’s shoulder like a specter. These images increase throughout the course of the film as Riggan goes further and further overboard, but they are there from the beginning. The first shot of the film is of him in his underwear, floating in the air while Birdman narrates. It’s a stark image that sets the tone of the picture.
Riggan, as a character, is fascinating to dissect. He is the very definition of a conflicted character. He works with his ex-wife Sylvia (Amy Ryan) and their daughter Sam (Emma Stone), though his relationship with either is thorny at best. He catches Sam, who is a recovering addict, smoking marijuana and, after berating her and getting even worse in return, smokes some of it himself. He is selfish and self-absorbed, spending more time on his career than he did raising his family, which is something Sam holds against him. This play is, in part, an attempt to reconnect with her, but things have been volatile. We can insert any number of famous actors into this, and the story would be the same. I recently watched a documentary on Ingrid Bergman, and the similarities are there: the obsession with work, neglect of the family, and a feeling that you are only alive when on the stage.
This obsession drives Riggan, and it ultimately drives him into a desperate act that leaves him wounded but makes a statement to the audience, to his family, to a particularly bitter drama critic (Lindsay Duncan), and to himself. It is the last-ditch effort of a desperate man, grasping at relevance. The end of the film provides him with the review he so desperately wanted, but it also ends on a note that can be interpreted in many different ways. Alejandro deliberately leaves it open to interpretation. He also leaves many dangling threads, telling us that life doesn’t always tie things up in a nice bow.
This is a film that is sure to frustrate some viewers. On the one hand, the lead character is unlikable, selfish, and self-centered. On the other, it’s Michael Keaton, and he brings a lot of goodwill with him; it’s part of who he is based on a long career in front of the camera. We are not meant to forgive Riggan for being a bad parent or for being a misogynist; it’s quite simply the way things were in show business at the time. It’s conflicting, and it makes us question our own biases as we watch it. It also says a great deal about the business, especially live theater in New York City. Those who have experienced that life will see a lot of truth in this depiction. That, in and of itself, may be too much for some. Not all of it hits the bullseye, but enough of it does that it rings true, even during the fantasy sequences. This is a movie with a strong vision expertly directed by a man who isn’t afraid to turn the camera on himself and expose the truth as he sees it. For that alone, this is pure cinema gold. Everything else is just the cherry on top.
Academy Award Nominations:
Best Picture: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, and James W. Skotchdopole (won)
Best Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu (won)
Best Actor: Michael Keaton
Best Supporting Actor: Edward Norton
Best Supporting Actress: Emma Stone
Best Original Screenplay: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr., and Armando Bo (won)
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki (won)
Best Sound Editing: Aaron Glascock and Martin Hernández
Best Sound Mixing: Frank A. Montaño, John Taylor, and Thomas Varga
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Release Date: October 17, 2014
Running Time: 119 minutes
Rated R
Starring: Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Emma Stone, and Naomi Watts
Directed by: Alejandro G. Iñárritu
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