BIRDMAN

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"He has a wonderful sense of humour and is

constantly in a side show, circus manner, juggling
people's energies in order to get what he wants." -
Marton Csokas on xXx director Rob Cohen

The World of Film in Australia - on the Internet Updated Sunday March 11, 2018

SYNOPSIS: Famous for portraying the iconic screen superhero, Birdman, Riggan
(Michael Keaton) struggles to mount a Broadway play - an adaptation he has himself
written, directs and also stars in. As the days near to opening night, he battles his
ego and attempts to recover his family, career and himself, haunted by .... Birdman.

Review by Louise Keller:

The rhythmic pounding of a jazz drummer as accompaniment to the little voice inside
Michael Keaton's head instills non-stop tension in this incongruous, edgy and brilliant film
from Alejandro Inarritu, whose dark comic tones agitate the unfathomable world of the
creative actor. It's a mind-blowing affair as theatrical legitimacy acclaim is sought to
supersede celebrity in what feels like an uninterrupted stream of consciousness. Keaton
simply soars, delivering a wonderfully quirky character with fearless strokes and a refreshing
lack of vanity. As for Inarritu's vision, it is uniquely fresh, wildly brave and joyously
satisfying.

When we meet Riggan (Keaton) in his dressing room at New York's St James theatre, he is CRITICAL COUNT
levitating in a cross-legged seated position, the raspy voice in his head telling him 'This Favourable: 2
place is horrible'. A large framed poster of Birdman, the film vehicle that made him a Unfavourable: 0
celebrity hangs on the wall; the voice tells us he is struggling with all the elements around Mixed: 0
him. By comparison, when he walks onto the stage in character for his starring role in
Raymond Carver's play What We Talk About When We Talk About Love (in which he has BIRDMAN (MA15+)
invested his money and reputation), he appears relatively normal. (US, 2014

Things really hot up when Ed Norton appears, replacing one of the actors at short notice. CAST: Michael Keaton,
Norton is superb as the wild canon, arrogant, bullish film star Mike Shiner who admits to Zach Galifianakis,
being Mr Truth on stage and Mr Fraud in real life. His nightmare onstage escapades (from Edward Norton, Emma
drinking Gin to responding to his erection are hilarious with dramatic consequences.) Naomi Stone, Naomi Watts,
Watts is terrific as his girlfriend Lesley, anxiously about to make her Broadway debut ('Why Andrea Riseborough
don't I have any self respect?' 'Because you're an actress'). The other women include
Andrea Riseborough as Laura, Riggan's occasional lover, Amy Ryan as his ex-wife and PRODUCER: Alejandro
Lindsay Duncan as Tabitha, the bitter critic who makes or breaks a production, spitting out Gonzalez Inarritu, John
vitriol as she verbalizes the sneering attitudes between commercial success and serious art. Lesher, Arnon Milchan,
Zach Galifianakis is comparatively subdued as Riggan's attorney and producer, eager to James W.
keep things on an even keel. Skotchdopole

Emma Stone is a standout as Riggan's troubled daughter Sam, just out of rehab. Her DIRECTOR: Alejandro
scenes with both Keaton and Norton zing with a tense dynamic. Watch for the rooftop scene Gonzalez Inarritu
in which she and Norton play Truth or Dare. We have no idea where it will lead. But that is
the vibe throughout the film. SCRIPT: Alejandro
Gonzalez Inarritu,
Insecurities are shown and vulnerabilities laid bare. As Riggan puts everything on the line to Nicolas Glacobone,
become more than 'a Trivia Pursuit question', the stakes become higher and higher as ego, Alexander Dinelaris,
self-obsession and creative preservation all take their toll. For discerning audiences who Armando Bo
embrace the unexpected.

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 Review by Andrew L. Urban: CINEMATOGRAPHER:
Surprising us most just when we think we know exactly what's coming, combining humour, Emmanuel Lubezki
pathos, drama, magic realism and a potential bag of Oscars, Birdman is virtuoso filmmaking.
The screenplay is wickedly satirical in both overt and covert ways. Take the title and the star: EDITOR: Douglas
we remember Michael Keaton as Batman. Take the female theatre critic who lashes Riggan Crise, Stephen
Thomas (Michael Keaton) for being a Hollywood blow-in to Broadway, where artistic purity Mirrione
banishes explosions and gunplay ... only to find her elitist view dashed and contradicted.
And there is so much more ... it's a film for cinematically mature audiences. MUSIC: Antonio
Sanchez
At its roots, the story is as old as showbiz: a man and his friends try to mount a show to
avert a financial disaster or save a sacred institution or a career. This classic skeleton is PRODUCTION
covered by layers of human weakness - plus the very essence that drives so much of DESIGN: Kevin
showbiz: ego. This rather common element is highly volatile, exceptionally sensitive and Thompson
deflates as rapidly as it inflates. Maybe more so.
RUNNING TIME: 119
Riggan is either a has-been or a nobody wanting to make it in New York, he feels, to retrieve minutes
his ego. But it proves exhausting and almost deadly. All the while he hides a secret that
torments him - and best kept a secret here, too, although it's frustrating because that is one AUSTRALIAN
of the most successfully used and audacious devices in cinema, especially as it is never DISTRIBUTOR: 20th
explained or alluded to: it's our secret, Riggan's and ours. Century Fox

Keaton is sensational, but so is Ed Norton as Mike the actor called in to replace one fired by AUSTRALIAN
Riggan - well, Riggan's friend and producer, Jake (Zach Galifianakis), on Riggen's orders. RELEASE: January 15,
Emma Stone gives a powderkeg performance as Riggan's daughter Sam, Naomi Watts 2015
shines as Lesley the play's female lead (and Mike's girlfriend), while Andrea Riseborough
delivers a complex, heartbreaking Laura, Riggen's current girlfriend.

But it's not just what, it's how the film is designed, shot, edited and given wings that makes it
irresistible.

In some ways an insider's story about theatre, in other ways a psychological thriller, and yet
another a film noir, or even a parable ... the film defies labels, and the extraordinary
soundtrack - with its challenging use of drums, played on a kit we glimpse twice - adds to
the effect of being immersed in a wild but hypnotic joyride through human nature.

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