Birdman
Dir: Alejandro González Iñárritu
2014
*****
Alejandro González Iñárritu's 2010 film Biutiful was an overlooked masterpiece, so I'm thrilled that he is getting the recognition he deserves for Birdman (I consider both films to be two of the best of the decade so far). It is indeed a modern masterpiece. There is so much to learn and enjoy from Birdman that it easily warrants repeat viewing. The similarities between the actors and characters is the first thing that will strike people, it makes the swipe at the state of modern cinema even more knowing. I often think people should step back from films like this and look at the bigger picture but in this instance I think it's important to focus on each element. Birdman is somewhat open to open to interpretation but one of the many things I got from it was that it very knowingly plays with the idea of the emperor's new clothes - as I've heard it being referred to by people who I believe have missed the point (it doesn't help that it's being sold as a comedy when it really isn't, it's just funny in places which is not the same thing). Apart from the obvious Raymond Carverisms and the Macbeth stuff there are a lot of Mexican references, life imitating art and a real swipe at modern creativity (or lack of) - tongue in cheek but also serious with a lovely bit of whimsical fantasy thrown in. Like Edward Norton's character says about Carver; he's a drunk and a hero of the White middle classes. It's true, but that's okay. I liked the beauty in what was/is on first instance seen as insulting or negative, "I want to pull your eyes out of your head and put them in my skull so I can see the City the way I did when I was your age" for instance (I paraphrase). The script is brilliant, words aren't wasted and every shot is thought through, beautifully composed and has meaning. 'A neo post-modern irony' (ha ha), I found it to be more a poke in the eye of its contemporaries. Indeed, it kicks the Superhero genre in the contemporaries rather spectacularly and pretty much every other film made in the year. Brilliant stuff.