There are two kinds of movie-goers: those that go to escape reality and those that go to understand it. Im in the latter category and find that good movies, like good books, help me escape reality enough that their truth bypasses my brain with wit, exacting dialogue and poetic imagery. If youre in the first group, stick to more traditional holiday fare and skip Birdman. However, if you are like me, youll find Birdman difficult and wild and woolly. After watching it, I had to go re-read Raymond Carvers short story that is referenced in the film. And I lost sleep considering the characters choices. Crazy frustrating. I loved it. Michael Keaton, willing to play a haggard and distressed has-been and Edward Norton, on the other side of failure (denial and overcompensation) are both actors that taking huge, admirable risks. And I have a new appreciation for Emma Stone ability to carry a scene which she does remarkable with the veteran Keaton. Amy Ryan, whose depth of character parallels Keatons character, offers other sides of the wheres-my-life-going dilemma. While Im handing out kudos, I have to say, is there anything that Jake Galifianakis cannot do? He does a great job straddling the chasm between greedy attorney and sympathetic train wreck. Imperfect, difficult, conflicted characters all - just like the rest of us, yknow, in real life. For me personally, the movie mimics Carvers ability to create tension with taunt scenes where characters say very brave, true things, elegantly. Its tough to take a short story master and translate it into scenes but director Alejandro González Iñárritu pulls it off well. I doubt Im the only one reaching for Carvers short story and thats a very good thing. The film has already earned many nods from film festivals but I suspect it will be passed over at the Oscars. I fear it will be passed over for more commercial stuff which is, ironically, one of the main tenants of the movie. I hope Im wrong. I hope Keaton takes it home. If you go, heres a hint: listen for the drum solo and pay close attention when a full score of music is played. If you get that, youll get a lot. Not that Im a big fan of the drum solo but for this application it is a great choice. A multi-layered, well written and thought provoking experience. Go.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 21:09:51 +0000
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