When I first saw Birdman, I was dumbfounded. Starting off with
the thunderous drums that drove the fast-paced, nonstop, emotional thrill-ride
of a film, and ending with an ambiguous, high-flying, suicidal cliffhanger. It
was a glorious experience. A cinematic triumph due to the technical difficulty
that comes along with creating a feature length film that appears to be a
single shot. It was filled with such high profile actors and actresses of
Hollywood as Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Zach
Galifianakis, Amy Ryan and Lindsay Duncan, who all gave immaculately raw performances
(Keaton, Stone and Norton were all nominated, in their respected categories,
for Oscars). It had an impeccably original, all percussion score by master
drummer Antonio Sanchez. Not only did it have all these things. It had a compelling,
rhythmic, driven, importantly artsy and
unbearably real story.
This film dealt with some of the
truest emotions I have ever seen on the screen, delving into the life of former
big-budget, blockbusting, superhero movie star, Riggan Thomsom (Keaton) as he
tries to validate his career through an “honest performance” in a play adaption
of Raymond Carver’s What We Talk About, When We Talk About
Love. As he wrestles with
his inner demons, fresh-out-of-rehab daughter (Stone), a too
method method actor (Norton)
and a cold-hearted, spiteful critic (Duncan), he nearly (or, quite possibly,
completely) loses his mind. Yet, this is far more than a movie about a
washed-up actor. This film tackles the crippling question that every person
wants to know: Am I important?
The whole plot revolves around
Riggan (who by the way in-coincidentally parallels Keaton himself, being that
he was the star of the Tim Burton Batman films in the late 80’s-early 90’s) searching for some form
of remedy to his stereotypical washed-up Hollywood career, only he doesn’t want fame for being some
blockbuster action hero anymore. No, he wants fame for putting on an honest
performance where his roots lie: on stage. Yet, it seems that he is not the
only one searching for this. At one moment or another, every character seems to
feel lost or looks for some sort of truth in life (not to the extremes of
Riggan, but still...) and, most of the time, comes up empty-handed.
That is why this film won best
picture. Because it is a human experience. It is a real experience. Despite the odd nature of
the film, which I won’t go into in great detail (it’s quite quirky, yet not at
all silly), it has such a truth to it. So, yeah, not only is it a fun,
exciting, star-studded, pulsing film that doesn’t know the meaning of slow
or
boring, it is a film that
holds the world on its shoulders and shakes it, asking the audience
subconsciously to examine their lives, whether it be filled with tweeting or
texting or binge-watching sitcoms on Netflix. It asks you the same question
Riggan tackles while hearing the voice of Birdman in his head: Are you real?
