It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Micheal Keaton

Dear Readers,

I know it has been a long time since we talked and I’m sure most of you have probably given up on me, but fear not, I am still here.  I have three excuses for being gone so long….1.  2014 has not been a good year for movies; 2.  I have tons of work to do at my real job that pays the bills; and 3.  I moved into a house, so that has been taking up a lot of my spare time.  Thus, it was really hard for me to make it to movies on opening weekends and who wants to read a review of a movie that has been in theaters for 4 weeks?  But, let’s go back to 1..seriously, what good movies have you actually seen this year?  Sure, I liked Guardians of the Galaxy – with a soundtrack titled Awesome Mix Vol. 1, how could you not, and discussing whether we did or did not see Ben Affleck’s penis in Gone Girl, but they weren’t great movies.  However, awards season is just beginning, so it’s time to get serious again.

First up, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).  How did Michael Keaton end up here?  Alejandro González Iñárritu, that’s how.  I could be cliche and say Keaton soars as Birdman, but I’ll refrain.  Birdman is the story of washed up action star, Riggan Thomson, trying to revive his career by adapting and directing the Raymond Carver play, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.  It’s his Broadway debut, and for a man that made his livelihood playing a winged superhero, he is in over his head on the Great White Way.  The film starts as the previews of the play begin and follows Riggan through opening night.  Riggan is not happy with his male costar and an injury fortuitously paves the way for Mike Shiner (Edward Norton) to join the cast and steal the show.  Get ready to see Edward on a lot of red carpets in the next few months.  I am predicting a Supporting nomination coming his way.  Also ladies, he may or may not get naked in this film….

As highly publicized, Iñárritu, shot the film with steadicams so it appears to be one continuous shot.  This is an awesome idea, but it can make you sick and we see a lot of backs of heads.  The more I read and hear about how the actors had to prepare to shoot this movie, the more I love this technique.  Not only did they have to memorize up to 15 pages of dialogue per scene, but they had to memorize the number of steps to take and have cameras in their faces in almost every scene.  According to Michael Keaton, the nightly preparation was rigorous and scary.

And speaking of Michael Keaton – I read the article in Entertainment Weekly in which he stated that Riggan Thomson is the character he identifies with the least throughout his entire career.  At first, I called bullshit – how can he not identify with Riggan?  An actor famous for donning a bird suit who hasn’t been seen in anything in a while, come on!  However, after viewing the film, I am having second thoughts.  I want to believe that Michael Keaton does not crave celebrity and wanting to be relevant or that Batman does not talk to him, but, even if he did, I have a feeling we’ll never know and he’ll deny it to the grave.  Not that I am a Hollywood expert, nor do I claim to know any stars intimately; however, I sense this film rings true for more people who care to admit it.  Grasping for fame and needing to be relevant is probably as common as boob jobs and cheek implants.  This role is clearly no Beetlejuice or Jack Butler (220. 221. Whatever it takes.), but Keaton tackles it with perfection.  Plus, I am a sucker for isolated men struggling with their inner demons.  And it makes you question the divide between celebrity and actor – in case that is something you ponder often.

Not only is Michael Keaton back on top of his game, his supporting cast is stellar – Zach Galafianakis as his BFF and producer, Naomi Watts as his co-star who wants to succeed on Broadway just as much as Riggan, Andrea Riseborough as Riggan’s current girlfriend, Amy Ryan as Riggan’s ex-wife, Emma Stone as Riggan’s daughter fresh out of rehab with a predilection for rooftops, and Lindsay Duncan as Tabitha, the NY Times theater critic who will make or break a play.  The scene between Riggan and Tabitha is the pinnacle of the movie and asks the most important question:  What has to happen in a person’s life to become a critic?  Well, that is a post for another day.

Until the next one….