Keaton is Back!: Birdman

"Meta" is a prefix that seems to get thrown around a lot these days.  A simple dictionary term describes it's adjective use as pertaining to or noting a story, conversation, character, etc., that consciously references or comments upon its own subject or features, often in the form of parody.  This particular form has been popping up quite a lot in our entertainment art forms these days, each to varying degrees and with varying metaphorical contexts.  It's not the easiest thing to pull off, but when it's pulled off well it is damn near dazzling.  Although, "dazzling" is probably not the appropriate descriptor of Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu's Birdman, it still works given the subject matter.

The film is centered on Riggen Thomson, a washed up film actor trying to put on a play adapted from Raymond Carver.  Everything seems to be going against him, from a volatile co-star (Edward Norton), various stage accidents, a disaffected daughter (Emma Stone), and, did I forget to mention the voice in his head?  Spurred on by the desire to create something meaningful with his art form and to thereby give his own megalomaniacal ego the stroke that it needs, he plunges forth against all odds to get through previews and finally achieve true artistic success like a moth to a flame.

Nothing is quite what it seems in this story.  For one, Iñárritu masterfully uses his camerawork and editing to make the majority of the film look like one continuous shot, showing the fast and often frantic pace behind the scenes of a theater production, only to bring us to a dead halt on some of the most brutally worded and amazing monologues I've seen on screen in some time.  This is truly an actor's film, but with enough of the behind the scenes insanity thrown in that any industry type person will be in on a joke or two that flies straight overhead of anyone else.  That doesn't distract from the true intention of the story though.  The meat of the story is Riggen's desperate attempt to maintain what fragile control he has left.  Be it his mental state, his relationship with his daughter, or just trying to keep his production from imploding, all the while seemingly cursed by his own self-centered desire and the internal war of his dual personality, Birdman himself.

The "meta" comes into play in the character of Riggen himself.  Riggen, being a fading Hollywood star who's claim to fame is a series of films about a costumed super hero named Birdman, which he quit making in the 90s.  To get even closer to this whole "meta" thing, Riggen is played by Michael Keaton.  Those Batman bells ringing yet?  Keaton's own Hollywood career began to decline in the mid to late 90s, but that didn't stop the actor for making the occasional film or two while throwing himself into a long and warmly received Theater career.  On top of all of this, there is a sort of scathing view of the entire entertainment industry that almost bleeds out of the screen.

What makes the film so damn good is it's humanity.  There is such a human quality behind everything that motivates even the smallest side characters of the story.  Everyone seems to be unsure of their place in the world, whether it's about how they fit, what they want, or who they are in their heart of hearts.  Despite all the volatile personalities and the ups and downs everyone seems to come together to complete the performance, a very human characteristic.  It's this kind of film making that sets Iñárritu apart from most of his contemporaries.

It's still in theaters.  It's probably also on demand.  This film really has a little something for everyone.  Give it a good chance before shelling out all your money for the latest blockbuster schlock that is about to bombard us til the end of the year.