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Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) is a black comedy superhero film co-written, produced, and directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu.
The film stars Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Emma Stone, and Naomi Watts.
The film was released on October 17, 2014.
Riggan Thomson (Keaton) is a washed-up Hollywood actor who once played the superhero Birdman in three blockbuster movies, before leaving the multi-billion-dollar franchise.
More than 20 years after "Birdman," Riggan wants to reinvent his career by writing, directing, and starring in a play, an adaptation of Raymond Carver's short story What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.
The play is produced by Riggan's best friend/lawyer Jake (Galifianakis), and stars Riggan's girlfriend Laura, first-time-Broadway-actress Lesley (Watts), and Mike (Norton).
Riggan's daughter Sam (Stone), a recovering drug addict, is Riggan's spunky, bedraggled assistant.
In order to afford Mike as a replacement actor (after Riggan supposedly try to kill the first actor by causing a spotlight to fall on him during a rehearsal), Riggan refinances a house that should belong to his daughter, Sam, so he's flat broke.
Throughout all of this, Riggan is mocked and bolstered by his voice as Birdman, which emanates from a "Birdman 3" movie poster in his dressing room.
We see Riggan perform telekinesis during the movie, and even levitating during meditation, but the phenomenon is not a major plot point, and it's left to the viewer if it really takes place outside of his Riggan's imagination.
During a preview, Riggan, Mike, and Lesley perform a scene where Riggan's character catches Lesley and Mike having sex in a motel, after which Riggan's character laments about not existing, and then commits suicide.
After one of the previews, Mike advises Riggan to find a more realistic prop gun.
Riggan reads early reviews and is incensed that Mike, the replacement, has stolen the spotlight.
Mike has even told the press that Raymond Carver was his inspiration to become an actor, which is Riggan's origin story.
Riggan desperately wants to be relevant, but the initial reviews did nothing to improve his ego/self-esteem, and those fears of being irrelevant deepened after an emotional confrontation by his daughter Sam, where she told him that he, like the rest of the world, doesn't matter, and to get used to it.
In the middle of a subsequent preview, Riggan accidentally locks himself out of the theater and has to speed-walk in his underwear through the bustling streets of New York City in order to get back into the theatre, where he finishes the preview to a confused and perhaps delighted audience.
He becomes a viral sensation for that speed-walk, which is ironic considering he had no social-media presence at all up until that time, and that he didn't believe social media made people relevant.
After the performance, Riggan runs into theater-critic Tabitha.
She reveals that she hates Hollywood celebrities who attempt to pass themselves off as legitimate actors and that she will destroy his play by writing the worst review ever written.
Frustrated, Riggan gets drunk (you have the sense he's a recovering alcoholic), and the following day hallucinates about communing with Birdman and possessing ever greater superpowers, including flight.
On opening night, the performances are better than ever.
Riggan, having taken Mike's advice a bit too much to heart, uses a real gun for the final scene, shooting himself in the head in front of the audience, and earns a standing ovation from all but Tabitha, who walks out during the applause.
You next see him in the hospital, very much alive, because he had only managed to shoot off his nose during the play.
His face bandages resemble Birdman's mask.
Best friend Jake is ecstatic about a very unexpected rave review from Tabitha, lauding Riggan's development of a new acting style she dubs "Super-Realism," and the fact that his best friend is still alive.
While alone in his hospital room, after a poignant father-daughter moment with Sam, Riggan spots birds flying outside his hospital room and climbs out onto the ledge.
When Sam returns, Riggan is gone. Sam hurries to the window, looks down at the street, expecting to see a body, then with a puzzled expression slowly looks skyward, and then smiles brightly.
Cast[edit]
- Michael Keaton as Riggan Thomson, Birdman
- Benjamin Kanes (uncredited) as young Birdman
- Zach Galifianakis as Jake
- Edward Norton as Mike Shiner
- Andrea Riseborough as Laura
- Naomi Watts as Lesley
- Amy Ryan as Sylvia
- Emma Stone as Sam Thomson
- Merritt Wever as Annie
- Lindsay Duncan as Tabitha
- Natalie Gold as Clara
- Jeremy Shamos as Ralph
- Frank Ridley as Mr. Roth
Production[edit]
Filming commenced in March 2013 in New York City.[6]According to the film's cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, the camerawork and editing of Birdman were manipulated to give the appearance that most of the film is one continuous long take.[7]
Music[edit]
On January 7, 2014, Antonio Sánchez was set to compose the music for the film.[8] The soundtrack album was released on October 14, 2014.[9]The movie is driven by simple but powerful drumming, and visuals of drumming are incorporated into the movie in several scenes, whether in a drum line or a lone man at a drum kit.
Release[edit]
On July 10, 2014, it was announced that Birdman had been selected as the opening film of the 71st Venice International Film Festival and would be in competition for the Golden Lion.[10] The film was released on October 17, 2014 in the United States.[11]Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
Birdman has been met with universal acclaim. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a rating of 93%, based on 117 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "A thrilling leap forward for director Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman is an ambitious technical showcase powered by a layered story and outstanding performances from Michael Keaton and Edward Norton."[12] Metacritic gave the film a score of 89 out of 100, based on reviews from 44 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[13]Peter Debruge of Variety magazine praised the film, describing it as "a self aware showbiz satire" and calling it "a triumph on every creative level".[14] Robbie Collin of The Telegraph gave the film 5/5. Collin has particular praise for the use of long takes by Emmanuel Lubezki, director of photography.[15] Richard Roeper gave the film an "A", and said that Keaton makes a serious case for a Best Actor nomination.[16]
![[icon]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section requires expansion. (September 2014) |
Awards[edit]
| Awards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Award | Category | Recipients | Result | |
| 71st Venice International Film Festival[17] | Golden Lion | Alejandro González Iñárritu | Nominated | |
| Little Golden Lion | Alejandro González Iñárritu | Won | ||
| P. Nazareno Taddei Award | Alejandro González Iñárritu | Won | ||
| Future Film Festival Digital Award | Alejandro González Iñárritu | Won | ||
| Soundtrack Stars for Best Score Award | Antonio Sanchez | Won | ||
| Gotham Independent Film Awards[18] | Best Feature | Birdman | Pending | |
| Best Actor | Michael Keaton | Pending | ||
References[edit]
- Jump up ^ "BIRDMAN (15)". British Board of Film Classification. September 11, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
- Jump up ^ "La Biennale di Venezia - 27 August". Retrieved August 17, 2014.
- Jump up ^ Steven Zeitchik (August 30, 2014). "Human foibles give 'Birdman' its superhuman wings". Los Angeles Times. p. 2. "shot over the course of 30 days and cost about $18 million to produce"
- Jump up ^ "Birdman". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. October 29, 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-31.
- Jump up ^ http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/24/us-filmfestival-venice-idUSKBN0FT1MC20140724
- Jump up ^ "Batman's hair... won't return: Michael Keaton reveals his thinning pate on set of new film Birdman". dailymail.co.uk. April 2, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
- Jump up ^ "Is Birdman a one-shot magic trick that could win Emmanuel Lubezki his second Oscar in a row?". June 21, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
- Jump up ^ "Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s ‘Birdman’ to Feature Music by Antonio Sanchez". filmmusicreporter.com. January 7, 2014. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
- Jump up ^ "‘Birdman’ Soundtrack Details". filmmusicreporter.com. September 18, 2014. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
- Jump up ^ "Birdman to hatch on opening night of Venice film festival". Retrieved July 10, 2014.
- Jump up ^ Fleming Jr, Mike (April 11, 2014). "Fox Searchlight Sets Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s ‘Birdman’ For October 17 Bow". deadline.com. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
- Jump up ^ "Birdman". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
- Jump up ^ "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
- Jump up ^ Peter Debruge (August 27, 2014). "Venice Film Review: ‘Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)’". Variety. Archived from the original on August 27, 2014.
- Jump up ^ Robbie Collin. "Birdman, review: 'spectacular, star-powered'". The Telegraph.
- Jump up ^ http://www.richardroeper.com/reviews/birdman.aspx
- Jump up ^ http://www.comingsoon.it/news/?source=cinema&key=35861
- Jump up ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/news/1931960/gotham_independent_film_awards_2014_nominations/?adid=home_hero2
External links[edit]
- Birdman at the Internet Movie Database
- Birdman at Box Office Mojo
- Birdman at Rotten Tomatoes
- Birdman at Metacritic
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Categories:
- 2014 films
- English-language films
- 2010s comedy-drama films
- American films
- American black comedy films
- American comedy-drama films
- Films directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu
- Films shot in New York City
- Films set in New York City
- Worldview Entertainment films
- Regency Enterprises films
- Fox Searchlight Pictures films
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