My first impressions were: Wow! Fabulous! In your face, no
holding back performances and dialogue. Lots of guts and has much to be
glorified about. (No guts, no glory. Right?) But also this movie is grounded and
homage to the world of acting and show-business. The movie definitely deserved to receive 4
Screen Actors Guild Award Nominations and 7 Golden Globe Nominations.
I enjoyed the director’s (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu) approach
to filming the movie. He took the camera and put it next to the actors’ faces
with a lively tilt. If in “American
Hustle” David O. Russell made straight close-ups of every actor throughout the
movie while giving limited life to background, then Mr. Inarritu made close-ups
of actors at an angle and in profile. He played with his camera so that
background of the Broadway Theater came alive as an actor itself. There was
life in actors’ faces and in the occupied spaces. I can imagine that takes were long but not a
lot. Probably, rehearsals were part of the filming before shooting. In
addition, since all actors are prolific in their craft, improvisation was
helpful. For example, when Mr. Keaton walked in a corridor to go on stage, he
hit the wall with his fist though he didn’t have to. I thought that was
brilliant and could’ve been, I hope, an improvisation. Otherwise, it would be
dull if our hero just walked through a hall.
Actors lived in the movie. They did not act. After all, real
acting is no acting. Every character lived in the story and in each scene as if
it was his or her life. This was an example of professional actors and not amateurs.
And, boy, I saw some great professional acting. Actors were naked in front of
me. They could not hide or lie about their story and their inner battles
because the camera was right in their faces.
In the last blog, I mentioned Kafka-esque quality to the
movie “Interstellar.” In “Birdman”, it was no different. The story had the
sure-real quality to it. But then, how could it be otherwise? Isn’t our life,
in the real world that we try to live in, is sure-real? Isn’t what happens in
our mind is weird, creepy, fantastical, mundane, and hard to put in words?
Therefore, from psychoanalytical point of view, the creators of “Birdman”
showed a person’s psyche in all its glory. That it is complicated. That it is
not black and white but the color of the rainbow. And if we didn’t experience
something similar, we would have a hard time understanding it or even
explaining it to ourselves.
All of us have that weird and annoying little voice in our
heads that always tells us what to do, and sometimes it is encouraging, and
sometimes disempowering. So, do we have control of it, or is that voice has its
own identity? I do wonder if that is the case for me, (you?) and where did it
come from? The only way to find out is to really sit down and go deep into
ourselves and try to meet it and learn about it and then try to put it in
writing. I’m afraid Riggan Thomas didn’t do it.
He was too pre-occupied with his fame when he was in three
“Birdman” blockbusters. He gave-in to
fame and forgot the mundane human life for which, in some way, we all desire. His
wife divorced him and his constant absence (and, I am sure, not just filming
movies) left his daughter (Emma Stone) without the father. Due to broken family
structure, his daughter eventually was admitted into rehab. When we met her in
the movie, she worked as her father personal assistant and tried not to fall
back on her old behavior, but, for me, she failed. And this brings me to ask
the real question, I guess: Was acting a true passion for Riggan? (Is it for
you?) Or did he misunderstand that note that was left for him by the author of
the play that Riggan was part of in his youth? After all, Edward Norton’s
character told Riggan that the author was drunk because, probably, he wasn’t
too fond of his own play. Was Riggan’s life a lie? Was his idea of producing a
play just a child’s desire for glory once more, and was he a good actor or just
a wanna-be? After all, New York Times theater critique told him so in the bar
that a movie actor’s place is not on stage, and he should stop deluding himself.
But he was successful. He was famous even for a short while
due to “Birdman” movies. He got what he wanted. But it wasn’t enough, in the
end. He didn’t believe he was The Actor. And his production of the play on the
sense of love was his comeuppance for his dying career and life. After all, the
play was about him. He tried and succeeded to express what he couldn’t express
in real life. This was his final curtain call. And he was the winner at the
end.
Therefore, this movie showed almost true colors of the
divide that exists between Broadway and Hollywood. There are movie actors, and
there are theater actors. They cannot be both. Personally, though, I disagree
because look at Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Stone (now on Broadway in “Cabaret), and
others. Actors are multi-dimensional if they study hard and take their craft
seriously enough but not too serious like Edward Norton’s character, and not
squander on too many opportunities. I think Norton’s character was a bit
over-the-top Method actor though for the movie’s sake he was brilliant. Both
characters and supporting cast showed how hard it is for actors to succeed in
their chosen career and be and stay happy in modern life.
And I believe that all people should see this movie to see
human struggles but also begin to understand that acting world is not a
cake-walk. It is a real career just like being a doctor, lawyer, teacher,
office clerk, etc. Entertainment world gets negative outlook because people
don’t really understand it (and they don’t really want to, it seems). Unlike
other careers already over-analyzed career ladders, acting career’s ladder is
still hidden and unacknowledged by masses though everyone watches TV, movies,
Internet, and plays computer games. Therefore, people only see what TV and
tabloids show, which isn’t much.
In the
end, the crow had sung its last song and left the Tower. Riggan understood that
for him freedom was more important than all the problems, successes, conflicts,
and happiness that came from being an actor either on stage or Silver Screen.
It was probable that he entered this career for all the wrong reasons: for fame
and prestige and fortune than for acting. Acting is where individuals go
through their own self-discovery and self-growth and then share with people
their insecurities and strengths of being a human being for audience to think
about their own lives. In the end, he got lost in his own mind, and he couldn't
get out and be free because the end of the movie, as I saw it, was giving in to
his alter-ego for all the wrong reasons. His daughter was already lost, but now
he became the Grand Finale. Our hero was not really predisposed to living in
the world among people in the end. This world wasn't his cup of tea. But then,
are we really able to live in it comfortably and freely as we desire? Can we share
our happiness and disasters with people who, we believe, take us for who and
what we are? And is it enough to just live for that? Are we ourselves capable of
living with ourselves when the Broadway lights go out? Personally, I am still
seeking answers to these questions though they are nigh.
On the
other note:
Some
say that Michael Keaton was playing himself since his career was in somewhat
sleep-mode. I disagree. There are so many differences between him and his
character. For one, I believe he has a good family with who he has spent quality
time. He didn't continue doing Batman movies though he was good as one and
could have continued. And I believe he has a very healthy outlook on his career
because acting is one of the hardest careers to undertake because an actor will
spend more time as unemployed, as per society's custom, than employed.
Another analysis of this movie “Birdman” Casting Review: http://www.castittalent.com/blog/2014/12/birdman-casting-review/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=birdman-casting-review
Another analysis of this movie “Birdman” Casting Review: http://www.castittalent.com/blog/2014/12/birdman-casting-review/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=birdman-casting-review
My
predictions for this movie:
SAG Awards:
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
(very high chance because actors had great chemistry with each other; all of
them were interconnected and drove each other nuts with conflicts, failures,
and successes).
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting
Role: Michael Keaton (definitely in contention: going from one type of
character to another – from sane to semi-sane to tranquil to lost)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting
Role: Edward Norton (has a chance; he drove Keaton’s character all around –
without his persona, Michael Keaton might not have been as believable)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting
Role: Emma Stone (no, sorry. She was an important part of the story but not
the essential. Without her character, the movie would’ve been great anyway).
Golden Globes
Best Picture Comedy: “Birdman” can win it. The movie
was engaging, dynamic, and unpredictable. This movie wasn’t very hilarious; it
had funny moments, but outright comedy…no.
Best Actor: Michael Keaton (Yes)
Best Supporting Actress: Emma Stone (No)
Best Supporting Actor: Edward Norton (Possible)
Best
Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
(Yes)
Best
Screenplay: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu,
Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo (Yes)
Best
Original Score: Antonio Sanchez (No)
A
little gift since you made this far and your head is still on your shoulders. Learn
more about this movie:
Conversations
Live Stream
BIRDMAN
Monday,
January 5th
9:30 PM Eastern Time
Join us for a Q&A with Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, and Emma Stone.
9:30 PM Eastern Time
Join us for a Q&A with Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, and Emma Stone.
To watch
the live stream:
Just go
to http://www.sagfoundation.org/livestream.
Email questions to LiveStream@sagfoundation.org or tweet to #SAGF.
Video will be archived immediately after the event at http://youtube.com/sagfoundation
Email questions to LiveStream@sagfoundation.org or tweet to #SAGF.
Video will be archived immediately after the event at http://youtube.com/sagfoundation
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