Birdman (2014)

review birdman

Before Birdman was released over here in the Netherlands I saw nothing but positive reviews and various Oscar nominations. This was one of those movie which I had to wait for a couple of months before I would be able to form my own opinion of it. Just like the movie Paper Man this really isn’t a superhero movie, but a story which focuses on Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton), once a popular actor who is suffering with mental issues. In his case he hears the voice of Birdman, a character with whom he had a lot of success in the past. He has said goodby to that role though. As an actor he is looking for something new to prove himself and stay relevant. He wants to show that he’s more than someone who stands in front of a camera. He does so by bringing a play to the stage which he has written, is directing and starring in. The movie opens during the rehearsals.

Review Birdman

The hectic atmosphere and stress of performing a play have been brought to the screen before. A movie like Bullets over Broadway does is just one example of it. You could also say there are parallels between this movie and Black Swan as the main character is striving for perfection as well while fighting his inner demons.

Technically the movie is very well made and seems to consist of one long shot, using clever edits to achieve that. It’s an ambitious goal and immediately reminded me of Hitchcocks Rope, who didn’t have the same possibilities to do so yet (but still pulled it off quite convincingly). Just like Rope I couldn’t help focussing on it, searching for the edits which really distracted me. I thought it doesn’t add anything to the story. Michael Keaton shows his acting chops, but so does the rest of the cast. During the rehearsals Edward Norton shows how seamlessly he can get into character, but Emma Stone, who plays Riggans daughter (and assistant) gets a lot of room to impress too. Even Zach Kalifinakis is good in a serious role, something which you don’t see him do often. The film wants to say a lot, not only about the mental state of its main character, but also about being famous, the harsh world of reviews, superhero movies and much more.

review Birdman

But despite the fact that the movie is technically impressive, has world class performances and enough subject matter to dig into I never managed to feel for any of the characters. The humour in the movie wasn’t funny enough to me and the dramatic moments didn’t impact me. This is one of those movies I wanted to love and was expecting me to, but it wasn’t meant to be. It is a movie where I can appreciate the various elements, but which I never will feel passionate about. And in the end that’s the reason I watch movies: I want to feel a personal connection and for this movie that simply wasn’t the case.

15 thoughts on “Birdman (2014)

  1. Fair enough- Birdman won’t affect people the same way each time. Sorry you didn’t find much to rave about like I did (LOL) but it’s an honest review, and that’s all we can ask. Nice work!

  2. I just saw Birdman on Sunday, and my reaction is pretty similar. I’d probably go 7/10, but I can’t argue too much with your take. I also found the acting to be really strong, and the technical achievements are impressive. What struck me was certain parts feeling a little hollow, especially when it comes to characters’ (and the filmmakers) feelings about art and sacrifice. Even so, it’s still a very interesting movie.

  3. This is such an odd little film. You either love it, you appriciate it or you like it.. then of course some hate it. Most of the non-movie-blogger people that ask me about this one, don’t really understand it .. I feel like this is such a difficult one to digest in a way that the style itself has such a big part.

    I connected with Emma’s character a lot though, and Riggan and I guess I was just very keen on connecting with it and it somehow just…happened.

    • It wouldn’t be a movie I’d recommend to non movie people, but if you love movies it is one people should see as their is enough to appreciate about it. Nice to hear that you connected with it in a way that I unfortunately didn’t.

  4. Aw, too bad you didn’t love it. Was it because there’s too much rave reviews before you seen it? I didn’t have any expectation about this movie when I watched it. One minor thing only for me was the drama felt a little bit too much in the end, like there’s too much seasoning

    • No, cause usually I don’t pay that much attention to reviews, but of course it made me have some expectations. Still I never got caught up in the whole story, so it simply wasn’t completely to my liking.

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