10.8.23
First watch: 4 stars
With the stock of Michael Keaton having gone up so much, as well as the novelty and camera shenanigans within Birdman losing impact, it has waned as a compelling story on rewatch. Now 10 years old, the film doesn’t feel quite as fresh, with a loss of validity now Keaton has returned as Batman in 2023’s The Flash.
It remains an ambitious and technically impressive film that explores celebrity culture and ego smartly, through the post-Hollywood life of Riggan Thomson, a washed-up actor striving for a comeback. Keaton delivers a great physical, meta-performance as Thomson, an actor known for playing a superhero in the 1990s, now trying to reinvent himself. With art imitating real life, Keaton captures Thomson’s desperation and delusions of grandeur, though moments of clarity are few. Emma Stone as Thomson’s snarky daughter and voice of the audience seems like the only reasonable person in the whole cast of up-their-arse Broadway performers.
However, the propulsive, jazz energy created by the score and the single-shot style has become exhausting and overly showy on repeat viewings. While an impressive stunt, the constantly roving camera calls unnecessary attention to itself. Although the gimmick suits the story of Riggan’s unravelling mental state, it does the unfortunate thing of reminding the viewer of better films with long takes, such as in Goodfellas, Children of Men and Touch of Evil. Another more unfair sleight is to say how the jazz score also reminds us of Damien Chazelle’s superior work, namely Whiplash.
Not a bad film by any stretch, Birdman just relies too heavily on technical chicanery and self-awareness now weakened by Keaton’s rise. Once you see past the camera tricks, the story feels hollow. The performances deserve praise but cannot sustain the ambitious conceit alone; what once seemed bold now appears a mildly enjoyable black comedy unable to support its weight. Birdman remains a unique entry in Iñárritu’s filmography, but its flaws have become more glaring.