3) Birdman
It’s hard to think of a more meta movie in 2014 than Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman, but it’s funny that as cinephiles celebrated a quarter of a century since Michael Keaton’s defining turn as the Dark Knight in Tim Burton’s Batman, Iñárritu and Keaton would team-up to take it all apart. But Birdman isn’t just a clever commentary on Keaton’s career, or a deconstruction of Hollywood’s superhero obsession. No, it’s also an ode to the need to free the creative beast, a take down of cultural snobbery, and a love letter to those who will risk anything – life, limb or dignity – to make something that truly matters, even if it only just matters to them.
But aside from snide commentary about how comic book movies are killing the culture and stifling the soul, one must salute Birdman as a technical achievement. Filmed as if it were one, long, continuous take, Iñárritu doubled his difficulty by shooting in a real Broadway theatre versus building a set with removable walls that would have made camera movements easier. And then, the director takes things further with an extended sequence where Keaton’s character Riggan Thomson seems himself flying around Manhattan, and the line between what’s real and what’s imagined becomes as blurry for the audience as it does for Riggan.
Of course, all kinds of technical mastery wouldn’t amount to a hill of beans if it weren’t for the great cast. Keaton is a standout because so much of Riggan’s story is metaphorical for the actor, but there’s something about just how far out on the ledge that he goes. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity that he doesn’t take for granted, and an Oscar nomination for Best Actor would be icing on the cake. Ably supported by Zach Galifianakis, Naomi Watts, Emma Stone, Amy Ryan, Andrea Riseborough, Lindsay Duncan, and especially Edward Norton, Keaton makes Birdman so much more than an inside joke. The film is a compelling comedy/drama in its own right, brought to you by a director at the peak of his technical game.
