Birdman review

A washed up actor struggles with his own personal relevance.

Summer movie season is upon us, and so I wanted to talk about a movie that deals with summer movies. Also this is a spoiler warning for the movie.

I took my best friend to see this for his birthday. He really wanted to see it and I knew nothing about this one. I hadn’t seen a poster, a trailer, or even a synopsis. I went into this movie not knowing what to expect, and that was for the best! This movie is about a washed up actor who’s trying to put on a stage production of a show that he’s writing, directing, and starring in. The show that they’re working on is pretty terrible. The script is pretty juvenile, the cast is falling apart, and Michael Keaton might just be crazy!

Michael Keaton is incredible in this movie. I was really hoping that he wold win best actor (after Ralph Fiennes didn’t get nominated) because he was perfect. The supporting cast is mostly very good! Everyone brought their A game.

Now if you don’t know, this movie was shot and edited to look like one continuous take. This makes you feel the hectic rush of these people trying to prepare their new stage production. This movie is very fast paced, and every time Keaton gets a chance to breathe, he’s dealing with potential insanity! There’s almost never a break!

Recently, I was watching Sicario with a friend, and he pointed out that there were three actors who were in comic book movies. When Spotlight was released, the big joke was that Batman, Sabertooth, and the Hulk were all working in the same office. It seems like the only way to become a relevant actor today is to be a superhero! Seriously, think of an actor you love. They have probably played a superhero. This movie really tackles that. There are tons of talented actors that are fading away because they won’t put on a cape.

Speaking of talented actors, Edward Norton is great in this movie! His character is written brilliantly and his chemistry with Keaton is great. All of these actors are well written except for Keaton’s ex wife. She’s only there for exposition and all she does is remind you of things that you already know. Also, there’s a girl that he’s having relations with and she doesn’t really add to the plot.

This script is also very funny! The direction and cast really make this movie work. Usually four writers=trouble, but that’s not the case here.

Let’s talk about the ending; Brilliant. Everyone has their own opinion about if he’s crazy or not, and I love that. In my opinion, I think that he died on stage and that the ending was his final dream of him earning his daughters and the worlds love.

This film showcases brilliant acting, a great script and solid direction.

Birdman- A

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