A movie about
excessive self-love and a total disregard for the opinions of others—that’s
what Birdman delivers. The movie isn’t half bad as an Oscar
contender, but I was expecting more given its numerous Oscar nominations (not
to mention the international accolades it boasts). It received nine nominations
in total, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best
Supporting Actor and Actress.
I think there is
a group of people who decide based on their own opinions what movies should win
awards and which shouldn’t.
Produced,
co-written, and directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, I’ll be honest—I had
to fight to stay awake while watching this movie and grew tired of waiting for
it to end. If it weren’t for Edward Norton and Michael Keaton’s overbearing and
captivating performances, I would have walked away. I may not have liked the
movie or its directing style, but Keaton and Norton were in a class of their
own. Their delivery was so good it felt unreal. I watched as these two tried to
outdo each other on screen, delivering line after line in a movie about putting
on a Broadway production.
Birdman stars
Michael Keaton as Riggan Thomson / Birdman and Edward Norton as Mike Shiner.
Riggan’s acting career is on the decline—he played the character Birdman in
three movies and now isn’t getting any offers. Desiring one last hurrah, Riggan
decides to produce and star in a Broadway adaptation of a Raymond Carver story.
Riggan struggles to put the production together while being tormented by the
voice of Birdman, who criticizes him relentlessly. He even imagines himself
performing feats of levitation and telekinesis.
While all this
is happening, Riggan is also trying to cope with Mike Shiner, a popular
Broadway actor with a big ego, and his daughter, who is recovering from drug
addiction.
This is a movie
that deserves accolades for the acting delivered by Keaton and the rest of the
cast (Keaton won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture –
Musical or Comedy). However, I’m not convinced it deserves praise for its
story, even though Alejandro won Best Screenplay at the Golden Globes. I guess
we’ll have to see how the Oscars play out.
In conclusion, if you want to see incredible acting, this is a movie for you. The cast will wow you. I also recommend giving it a watch—maybe you’ll have a different opinion than mine, and if so, please let me know.
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