Spencer Hoffman is a writer for The Hollywood Insider and current film student. He is an avid consumer of cinema and television and enjoys sharing his insight on these topics within his features and reviews. He strongly believes in the power of the written word and the importance of truth in everything. Spencer aligns with The Hollywood Insider’s views of empowerment and raising all types of voices up. He hopes to entertain and incite meaningful conversation with his pieces.
Jul 22, 2024
Table of Contents
Alejandro González Iñárritu’s 2014 film, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)starring Michael Keaton, explores the story of 90’s ex-superhero star Riggan Thomson and his return to the spotlight in his adaptation of Raymond Carver’s ‘What We Talk About When We Talk About Love’ on Broadway. Along with Keaton are Hollywood stars Edward Norton as Mike Shiner, a narcissistic actor who believes Riggan is just a Hollywood puppet; Emma Stone as the witty and sarcastic daughter of Riggan; Zach Galifianakis as Riggan’s best friend and voice of reason and Naomi Watts as Lesley, girlfriend of Mike Shiner and fellow star in Riggan’s adaptation.
Despite appearing to be about an actor’s dying career and his last-ditch attempt at being relevant again, ‘Birdman’cleverly tells a story unique in its delivery of the question: what is realart? This question is posed to us early on in the film and answered near its finish, but allows the audience to ponder on it even after the credits have rolled. ‘Birdman’ forces us to ask ourselves if Hollywood superhero movies are real artistic expressions and if Riggan, a Hollywood star, can create real art from his acting. In a film about art itself, ‘Birdman’ carefully criticizes blockbuster cinema and art snobbery while also paying homage to theater art.
What immediately stands out about ‘Birdman’as a film is its innovative use of visuals and audio. The way scenes are edited in ‘Birdman’gives the sense that the entire film is shot as one continuous scene. This allows scenes to have a sense that the audience is watching everything unfold in real-time. This choice by Iñárritu seems to emulate a stage production, as theater plays, like the one Riggan is putting on Broadway, is only interrupted by an intermission. This continuous shot technique is emphasized by ‘Birdman’s’ soundtrack, which opens on a drum solo and, besides the use of borrowed classical pieces, stays as a pure drum soundtrack for the rest of the film. The use of drums in ‘Birdman’allows these continuous scenes to blend together seamlessly. A great scene that makes excellent use of the soundtrack is when Riggan and Mike are walking down Broadway, and the camera cuts to an actual drummer playing the soundtrack of the film. This transition the music takes from non-diegetic to diegetic and makes the music of ‘Birdman’feel more connected to the world of the movie.
What gives ‘Birdman’such an intimate feel is seeing our characters go from performing onstage to immediately dropping their characters when we follow them backstage. Seeing Keaton and others go from acting onstage as their stage characters to reverting back to their film characters gives us the feeling that we’re watching something intimate. One of my favorite scenes is when Riggan goes outside in his robe for a smoke and ends up locking himself out and getting his robe stuck in the door. Instead of staying and waiting for someone to open the door, Riggan runs through Broadway in his underwear just to make his cue on time in the play. We see how this play struggles in every way, so when Riggan nails a performance, we know what it took to get him there.
One of the core elements of Keaton’s character in ‘Birdman’ is his past as a Hollywood film star. Riggan once starred as the Birdman, a clear reference to Michael Keaton’s role as Batman in the 1990s. Throughout the film, Riggan manifests Birdman as an almost second personality, his ego constantly reminding him of what he once was. However, Riggan is flabbergasted by critics and fellow actors who tell him that the Birdman films he once starred in were not “real art” or “real acting” on his part. This is demonstrated in a scene between Michael Keaton’s Riggan and Tabitha, a play critic. She sees Riggan as a celebrity who wants nothing more than to be relevant again. Riggan denies this and instead criticizes her for risking nothing to be a critic, while he is forced to make sacrifices to put on this play.
‘Birdman’was released in 2014, which was deep into the constantly rising superhero genre in Hollywood. The Marvel Cinematic Universe was in full swing, and films like ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’and ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’had recently hit theaters. Given this, it seemed that ‘Birdman’was targeting Hollywood’s obsession with superhero stories. Ironically enough, although it’s not entirely clear at first, ‘Birdman’seems to be a superhero movie itself. ‘Birdman’is filled with action sequences, flying scenes, and other superhero-esque elements. In the end, ‘Birdman’criticizes those who believe superhero films to be mindless entertainment and not “real art.” Riggan does achieve what the critic and others claim to be true art on the stage. However, Riggan’s acknowledgment came with a price. ‘Birdman’leaves us questioning if the art Riggan had created by the end of the story was actually poetic or just pure insanity on his part.
Birdman stands to be some of director Iñárritu and leading actor Michael Keaton’s finest work to date. The film stands out for its incredibly creative visual and audio choices, along with incredible acting from the entire cast. The word I would use to describe the feeling I received from watching this film was realism. Everything about ‘Birdman’feels genuine, from Michael Keaton playing a character with an eerily similar past to his own to the intimacy of some of the scenes. ‘Birdman’feels extremely intimate and everyone who populates this film feels believable. I deeply enjoyed getting to know and understand these characters, being immersed in the world of Broadway and especially Riggan’s own mind. Although a great deal of the art of Birdmancomes from its beautiful soundtrack and stunning visuals, what makes the film stand out is its take on the human condition.
Click here to read The Hollywood Insider’s CEO Pritan Ambroase’s love letter to Cinema, TV and Media. An excerpt from the love letter: The Hollywood Insider’s CEO/editor-in-chief Pritan Ambroase affirms, “We have the space and time for all your stories, no matter who/what/where you are. Media/Cinema/TV have a responsibility to better the world and The Hollywood Insider will continue to do so. Talent, diversity and authenticity matter in Cinema/TV, media and storytelling. In fact, I reckon that we should announce “talent-diversity-authenticity-storytelling-Cinema-Oscars-Academy-Awards” as synonyms of each other. We show respect to talent and stories regardless of their skin color, race, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, etc., thus allowing authenticity into this system just by something as simple as accepting and showing respect to the human species’ factual diversity. We become greater just by respecting and appreciating talent in all its shapes, sizes, and forms. Award winners, which includes nominees, must be chosen on the greatness of their talent ALONE.
I am sure I am speaking for a multitude of Cinema lovers all over the world when I speak of the following sentiments that this medium of art has blessed me with. Cinema taught me about our world, at times in English and at times through the beautiful one-inch bar of subtitles. I learned from the stories in the global movies that we are all alike across all borders. Remember that one of the best symbols of many great civilizations and their prosperity has been the art they have left behind. This art can be in the form of paintings, sculptures, architecture, writings, inventions, etc. For our modern society, Cinema happens to be one of them. Cinema is more than just a form of entertainment, it is an integral part of society. I love the world uniting, be it for Cinema, TV, media, art, fashion, sport, etc. Please keep this going full speed.”
Spencer Hoffman is a writer for The Hollywood Insider and current film student. He is an avid consumer of cinema and television and enjoys sharing his insight on these topics within his features and reviews. He strongly believes in the power of the written word and the importance of truth in everything. Spencer aligns with The Hollywood Insider’s views of empowerment and raising all types of voices up. He hopes to entertain and incite meaningful conversation with his pieces.
Spencer Hoffman is a writer for The Hollywood Insider and current film student. He is an avid consumer of cinema and television and enjoys sharing his insight on these topics within his features and reviews. He strongly believes in the power of the written word and the importance of truth in everything. Spencer aligns with The Hollywood Insider’s views of empowerment and raising all types of voices up. He hopes to entertain and incite meaningful conversation with his pieces.
Spencer Hoffman is a writer for The Hollywood Insider and current film student. He is an avid consumer of cinema and television and enjoys sharing his insight on these topics within his features and reviews. He strongly believes in the power of the written word and the importance of truth in everything. Spencer aligns with The Hollywood Insider’s views of empowerment and raising all types of voices up. He hopes to entertain and incite meaningful conversation with his pieces.
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