Emily and I saw Birdman (Or: The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) at the AMC this evening. Birdman is a complicated film. I haven't digested it yet, and probably never will in the fullest sense; it's one of those where you can detect larger machinations beneath the surface, but the wheels never show. It is a bleak, black comedy full of futility and broken ego. A rotating, diversely talented cast piles on the plotlines, some of which seem to lack complete resolution but all of which are executed with surgical production quality. It's impressive watching a harried Michael Keaton hit rock bottom; Edward Norton is smoothly arrogant, both vastly and subtly different from the pre-incarceration skinhead of American History X. Zach Galifianakis is somehow the most diplomatic guy in the room as Jake, my favorite character. Bonus points for the always-charming Emma Stone! The jazzy and offbeat score carries the existential action along. There are some explosions and a guy in a bird suit makes a few appearances. Themes of acceptance, validation, and desperation run throughout. In my eyes, the main weakness of Birdman is that it is too clever by half. There is clearly a unifying vision at work somewhere, but the confusing abundance of storylines and overwhelming richness of the production make it somewhat inaccessible. I couldn't savor Birdman the way I would have liked to; trying to identify all the spices in the dish is too taxing.
Quote of the day:
"The Devil is for people with no imagination." - Matt
No comments:
Post a Comment