Movie Review: Birdman

“It’s time to show these people what we’re capable of…” Wonderful line that still rings in my head

I had to watch Birdman twice to really appreciate it. Alejandro Inarittu’s work is, much like onions and ogres, full of layers. I enjoyed it the first time as a simple black comedy with Michael Keaton effortlessly deconstructing his Hollywood career of the 80’s and 90’s Batman era. It is a role literally only he could do — a self-aware washed up former comic book movie star looking to get back into acting on his own terms through serious theater work. The funky drum-heavy soundtrack and somewhat gimmicky but well-executed “all one take” directing of Inarittu both serve the black comedy vibe well. Then I watched it again and saw something bigger. It was the scene between Riggan (Keaton) and Tabitha, the influential theater critic who promises to kill Riggan’s play regardless of what she actually sees on stage.

What makes their scene together in the bar so great is that it is incredibly well-acted and it embodies the most important theme of the film. Tabitha is absolutely right to condemn the degenerating cultural junk Riggan’s comic book movies foisted on society and she is right to question his right to use the money he earned from that dubious work to try to rewrite his legacy with the play. Yet Riggan is also equally right when he says that as a critic she “risks nothing,” and couldn’t possibly understand the stress of the creative art of acting.

Who is Tabitha to elect herself cultural arbiter? That elitism is precisely why so many people, rightly, do not care at all about what critics think. It is also why, tragically, so many people have contempt for the entire intellectual class and professional experts of all stripes. Whether it is the covid crisis, elections, or any complex national news story, every day we see the effects of this mistrust caused by the betrayal of the egghead class. This and the bigger question of authenticity are at the heart of Birdman. Here’s a movie that stylishly and thoughtfully plays with these big ideas genuinely making us laugh and think at the same time. Top notch stuff.

Grade: A-