Director Alejandro González Iñárritu reportedly sat down with the legendary Mike Nichols for dinner to discuss his next project, a comedy that would be shot as one long take. Nichols warned him not to go ahead with this idea since editing has always been a key ingredient in how you make comedy work in movies; giving the whole thing the appearance of being shot in one take limits your chances of working miracles in post-production. Iñárritu chose to do it anyway – but became more aware of the challenges of making Birdman fly.
Mounting a comeback
Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) used to be a big action-movie star, but after three “Birdman” movies where he played a winged superhero, his star began to fade. Now Riggan is mounting a comeback, having picked Broadway as his new venue. He’s staging a production of a Raymond Carver short story, but one of the actors simply isn’t very good. When he’s suddenly struck by a spotlight, Riggan needs to find a replacement and gets it in the shape of celebrated actor Mike Shiner (Edward Norton) – who immediately clashes with Riggan. In Mike’s world, everything on the stage has to be one hundred per cent authentic, from the emotions to whether his character should be drinking water or real gin on stage.
As Riggan struggles with his personal demons and Mike’s ego, the newcomer takes a liking to Riggan’s daughter Sam (Emma Stone)…
A knowing satire
We expect certain things from Iñárritu – his work is often labyrinthine, socially conscious, made in earnest with dark streaks. This film shows just how brilliant he is as a filmmaker; the guy even knows how to stage a knowing satire involving the world of acting and the theater. Filmed at the prestigious St. James Theatre on Broadway, the movie takes us on a fascinating, whirlwind look at life behind the scenes, as cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki’s camera forcefully pushes us down cramped corridors and crowded spaces where actors and stagehands mingle.
Both Keaton and Norton’s characters immediately take the center stage and they are fascinating – the former boldly mirroring his own career, in decline after the Batman movies, the latter irresistibly provocative as the actor who is all about Truth on stage but full of shit as soon as he’s off it. They’re very ably matched by Stone in her greatest performance so far, as the daughter who’s done the expected Hollywood drug addict routine and is now recovering, still hurting from Riggan’s absence during her childhood. The only thing that doesn’t ring true about the characters is a legendary theater critic (very well played by Lindsay Duncan) who is impossibly unprofessional… but still vital to the story of Riggan’s unwieldy balancing act near the abyss.
Throughout the film, we are treated to imaginary scenes and elements, figments of Riggan’s mind, leftovers from his “Birdman” years. Not only are they entertaining to behold, but they also symbolize the actor’s insecurity and childish loss of prestige. They also play an important part in that final scene that fuses reality with fantasy in what I suppose is a very hopeful way.
There’s a mad energy, a flow, to the whole project, boosted not least by Mexican jazz drummer Antonio Sanchez’s fiercely driven music score. The filmmakers find a way to make us feel like this really was shot as one long take, but there are quieter moments that somehow don’t break the illusion. Funny, crazy and dark – it’s all true for the film, and Keaton’s performance. It’s hard to forget the sight of him actually doing a version of the nightmare we’ve all had – being left stranded in only tighty whities on Times Square.
Birdman 2014-U.S. 119 min. Color. Produced by Alejandro González Iñárritu, John Lesher, Arnon Milchan, James W. Skotchdopole. Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Screenplay: Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo. Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki. Music: Antonio Sanchez. Editing: Douglas Crise, Stephen Mirrione. Cast: Michael Keaton (Riggan Thomson), Edward Norton (Mike Shiner), Emma Stone (Sam Thomson), Naomi Watts, Andrea Riseborough, Zach Galifianakis… Amy Ryan.
Trivia: Full title onscreen: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).
Oscars: Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Cinematography. Golden Globes: Best Actor (Keaton), Screenplay. BAFTA: Best Cinematography.
Quote: “The last time I flew here from LA, George Clooney was sitting two seats in front of me. With those cuff links, and that… ridiculous chin. We ended up flying through this really bad storm. The plane started to rattle and shake, and everyone on board was crying, and praying. And I just sat there. Sat there thinking that when Sam opened that paper it was going to be Clooney’s face on the front page. Not mine. Did you know that Farrah Fawcett died on the same day as Michael Jackson?” (Keaton)
Last word: “I turned 50 last year and I have learned a lot going through my personal process. I learned there are ways to approach life. You can never change the events, but you can change the way you approach them. The only thing that is important to me is to be honest to my circumstance and context. What this film talks about, I have been through. I have seen and experienced all of it; it’s what I have been living through the last years of my life. Instead of approaching it tragically, I wanted to try another mode. Not to reconcile past events, but actually to survive them. Doing this, I personally experienced a kind of reconciliation with life itself and faced things I don’t like about myself, things which used to make me bitter.” (Iñárritu, Deadline)
