Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Quirky, odd films are becoming a fairly main staple of the film industry. I feel that since Hollywood has produced some very ordinary, banal films throughout the last several decades, the independent film companies have jumped on the band wagon and have offered us movies that not only we can sink our teeth into, but have a clever premise all the while entertaining us on many levels. "Lars and the Real Girl", "Juno", "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", "The Fault With Our Stars", "Boyhood", "Locke", or any of the Coen Brothers films have captured our interest, certainly our attention while entertaining us with fresh writers, directors, and acting. "Birdman" is a film which definitely is quirky and original, but could use some work.

Riggan Thompson (Michael Keaton), once known quite well to movie theater goers as an iconic super hero called "The Birdman", had recently turned down a fourth installment of the franchise. Now washed up, he attempts to reinvent himself as a director, writer and actor by staging a new retelling of a classic Broadway dramatic play called "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love". The events leading up to the Saturday night premiere prove to be one disaster after another as the original lead actor is injured while on set and Riggan and his producer, Jake (Zach Galifianakis) scrambles to find a replacement, but the replacement, Mike (Edward Norton) proves to be exactly who these two need-- a method actor who takes the job way too seriously. But as Riggan has a difficult time juggling between the set, his replacement actor, and his equally washed up daughter, Sam (Emma Stone), a host of other disasters happen that prevent a proper staging of the play. Meanwhile, a New York Times critic (Lindsay Duncan) who Riggan has to woo threatens to kill his play without even seeing it because she can't stand Riggan-- his plastic, commercial movie star status whom she feels is not an actor.

Others to round out the cast are Naomi Watts as Lesley, Riggan's ex-wife, Andrea Riseborough as Laura, Amy Ryan as Sylvia, Merritt Wever as Annie, Jeremy Shamos as Ralph, Michael Siberry as Larry and Clark Middleton as Sidney.

The pacing in this--the in-your-face approach with these different characters, and amazing grit was extremely well delineated by director Alejandro G. Inarritu ("Amores Perros" 2000, "21 Grams" '03, "Babel" '06, "Biutiful" '10) plus several shorts. His direction keeps getting better with each project he's connected with. It was written by Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo. Whereas the film more than exceled in the direction, the writing could've been a bit more polished. Trust me, the script was good, however there were scenes that really had not to do with the premise that could've been left out. Plus, there weren't a very strong difference between the 'dream' sequences and reality which added to a fair amount of confusion. But the premise and story was certainly fresh and original, which is what actually keeps you going throughout this. Emmanuel Lubezki, asc/amc ("Like Water For Chocolate" '92, "The Birdcage" '96, "Meet Joe Black" '98, "Ali" '01, "The Assassination of Richard Nixon" '04, "The New World" '05, "Burn After Reading" '08, "The Tree of Life" '11, "Gravity" '13) plus many others, photographed this and it shines with intricate detail within the gritty lights and darks which simply adds to the feel of this. Even Keaton gives the performance of a lifetime in this-- possibly could receive an Oscar nod come that time.

If you like more of the formulaic films, this probably isn't for you-- this being made for a select audience, however if you like quirky with a weird bent, this is one that will certainly fit the bill.

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                  Rated: R                             119mins.