Birdman

Last night I continued my quest to see all of the Best Picture nominees (see my reviews of The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, The Theory of Everything, and Whiplash) by going to Birdman. This movie pretty much blew me away and left me reeling long after I left the theater.  However, I still can't make up my mind about whether I liked it or not.  Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton), a Hollywood actor best known for playing the Birdman in a series of superhero movies several years ago, is attempting to revive his career by mounting an ambitious Broadway play.  The production is fraught with difficulties for Thomson including the last-minute addition of an attention stealing Method actor (Edward Norton), an insecure leading lady (Naomi Watts), a love interest (Andrea Riseborough) who may or may not be pregnant with his baby, a daughter (Emma Stone) who has just returned from rehab, the threat of a bad review from a jaded theater critic (Lindsay Duncan) who hates Hollywood actors, and the insistent voice of his alter-ego, the Birdman, criticizing and tormenting him throughout.  There are many themes explored in this movie (Broadway vs. Hollywood, talent vs. celebrity, creating art vs. critiquing it, etc.) but, ultimately, all of the characters are searching for acceptance and relevance.  Michael Keaton is absolutely brilliant in this art-imitating-life role of a lifetime (he may have thrown a wrench in my philosophical musings about the Best Actor category).  The same could be said of Edward Norton (nominated for Best Supporting Actor), who is notoriously difficult to work with, as the arrogant actor who feels more real on stage than he does inhabiting his own skin.  Emma Stone delivers a powerful speech about the fact that nobody is special (hence her nomination for Best Supporting Actress).  Really, every actor shines in this movie, including, rather surprisingly, Zach Galifianakis.  However, I feel like several characters became irrelevant as the movie progressed.  The action is depicted as one continuous take, which is brilliant in my opinion, and I especially loved all of the tracking shots as the actors walked the long corridors and tight staircases in the theater.  I found the constant staccato drumming in the background to be very jarring but I suppose it added to the overall effect of chaos.  Hmmm.  I still don't know how I feel about this movie, although it did prompt quite the discussion until the wee hours of the morning (in fact, everyone was talking about it in the theater lobby).  I suggest you see it and decide for yourself!