Birdman (2014)

Directed by: Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu
Country: USA

Movie Review: “Birdman or "(The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” is the funniest movie from Mexican filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu, a solid reference in the contemporary cinema, taking into account relevant titles such as “Amores Perros”, “21 Grams”, “Babel” and “Biutiful”. The story follows Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton), once a famous actor associated with the superhero Birdman, who wants to shine again, this time through a Broadway play based on Raymond Carver’s short story. With abnormal capacities and listening to the voice of truth that comes from inside his head, Riggan will struggle to solve his own problems, at the same time that interacts with his estranged daughter Sam (Emma Stone), and with the rest of the actors he chose. In this last group we have the sexually unrestrained Mike Shiner (Edward Norton), Riggan’s frustrated girlfriend, Laura (Andrea Riseborough), and the insecure Leslie (Naomi Watts) who feels disrespected by Mike in the most hilarious scene of the film. Wild and eccentric, “Birdman” works as a weird delirium that puts together the surrealism of “Brazil”, the mood of Coen brothers, and some of Paul Thomas Anderson’s best narratives. Iñarritu knows exactly what he’s doing and what he wants from the audience, playing with us the same truth-or-dare game that is played by his characters. A note for the soaring sound of the drums that is heard along the film, so important to give the film the special flow it needs, and the outstanding cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezky (“Gravity”, “The Tree of Life”).