Movie Reaction: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Formula: Death to Smoochy / ?*

*I don't know. This is a tough one for a formula.

Why I Saw It: Possibly an Oscar player, great cast, and interesting style.

Cast: Michael Keaton. The movie sinks or swims with him and this is easily the best role of his career. He plays, get this, a former big time movie star who's career has gone nowhere since turning down a sequel to a superhero series he starred in 20 years ago. Gee, I wonder how he was able to related to the character? To leave it at the Batman comparison would be diminutive. Keaton displays a full range here and humanizes what could easily be a ridiculous character. Everyone else in the cast is there to support Keaton, but most of them get a chance to shine too. Ed Norton as an actor brought into Keaton's play at the last second is intense and also playing a near caricature of himself. Emma Stone is wonderful as Keaton's formerly strung out daughter. Naomi Watts is a first time Broadway actress and gets one somewhat heartbreaking scene. Andrea Riseborough is an actress and girlfriend of Keaton. Zach Galifianakis is restrained to great effect, playing Keaton's friend and producer. It's a great cast.

Plot: Keaton is one time movie star Riggan Thompson, who is trying to revive his career by writing, directing, and starring in a Broadway production. He has invested everything in this and it's driving him a little crazy. Days before the show is set to premiere, one of his actors gets injured and he brings in Mike, a volatile Broadway star, who is dating one of the female stars in the show (Watts), to replace him. His daughter (Stone), who used to be in rehab, is now working as Keaton's assistant. The fourth actor in the show happens to be the woman Keaton is dating (Riseborough). Riggan is keeping a small circle. The movie is driven far more by the characters than the plot and that's a strength. Keaton gets several great moments, but each of the other characters gets at least one monologue or moment as well. They feel well-serviced in that regard. The one caveat I'll add to that though is that characters do kind of drop off at the end. It's Riggan's story, so when a character like Norton's stops being important to him, the movie doesn't bother with him anymore. It's not to the movie's detriment or anything. It's just a little jarring if you are expected closure toward the end.

Elephant in the Room: How was it shot? You can't tell from the previews, but the movie is filmed to look like one continuous shot. It's not done in real time though. It's a really cool way to do it. My fear was that it would be an experiment that, while technically cool, makes the movie harder to watch. Well, it doesn't. And, it does add to the overall feel of the movie. I mean, nobody minded it in Gravity, right?

To Sum Things Up:
The big fear about this movie is that it would only play on the coasts, that it's an insider movie and people outside of New York and L.A. would have a hard time accepting it. I can see that. At the same time, I really liked it. I got enough of what they were talking about to thoroughly enjoy it. This is a strange, funny little movie and I think it will surprise a lot of people who laugh it off when they first hear about it. I'll just let you know now that you'll be hearing this a number of times when the Oscar nominations come out, so you might as well see it now.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend