When I came out of Escape cinemas, I felt like I was living for last few weeks inside one of the theaters in Broadway, New York. Such was the vehemence of Birdman (2014) cinematography. Majority of Birdman was filmed in tight closeups, you could literally see the pores in the skin of Naomi Watts and Emma Stone (of Gwen Stacy fame in Spider-Man film series 2012 & 2014), and I can recall my way through the narrow corridors of the Broadway theater that was shown.
The film is an intense emotional ride, covering over few days in the life of Riggan Thomson (played by Michael Keaton) who is attempted to win credibility as a director & actor on a Broadway stage. Riggan was a former super-star in Hollywood for a successful franchise called Birdman. So big was Birdman characters’ success that Riggan feels his real life is insignificant to the reel life. Everyone around Riggan is in one-way or other yearning for relevance in their own life.
I liked the ending where Riggan’s daughter Sam looks out of the window over the sky and smiles, indicating something good to have happened for Riggan.
Birdman’s story is a combination of Black Swan (2010) and The Artist (2011) with profanity thrown in generously.
