Michael Keaton soars again in Birdman

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen this year. Birdman stars Michael Keaton as Riggan, an aging actor, made famous by playing superhero Batman… err… “Birdman”… decades ago. He has never done anything else that reached those heights, and now, in his later career, is trying to make a new mark on Broadway, a play he wrote and is starring in and directing. The critics (and his own family) wonder if he is doing it for attention, to distance himself from Birdman, to boost his ego, or just for the art of acting, and truth be told he himself doesn’t seem to know the real reason, though he is sinking his last dollar into the project.

The movie follows the events leading up to opening night, through previews, and Riggan’s interactions with fellow actors (including Edward Norton), family (daughter Sam played by Emma Stone), and friends (such as his agent Zach Galafinakas). All give absolutely stellar performances here. You’ll be moved emotionally from extreme highs to desperate lows through the course of the film. 

The movie also pokes fun at the industry. Norton’s character Mike is a method actor and is ridiculous, such as when he shows his disgust when a prop gun doesn’t look real enough for him to really find the fear he needs to show to the audience. Galafinakas tells Riggan everything he wants to hear, even laughable things that could never be true. Sam struggles with wanting gratification from her father, while holding deep resentment towards him for not being there during her childhood. Riggan is barely clinging to his sanity, hearing voices (Birdman in his head). The culmination of the film will leave you scratching your head, and thinking about it long after the credits roll.