10th Anniversary TLDR: Birdman (2014)
You're no actor, you're a celebrity. Let's be clear on that.
Plot: A fading actor best known for his portrayal of a popular superhero attempts to mount a comeback by appearing in a Broadway play. As opening night approaches, his attempts to become more altruistic, rebuild his career, and reconnect with friends and family prove more difficult than expected.
Direction: The only other Alejandro G. Iñárritu movie I've seen is The Revenant, which I found utterly painful, so I'm not in the best position to write this section. I do want to see many of them, I just haven't. Iñárritu lit the world on fire with his Birdman/Revenant back-to-back, winning consecutive Best Director Oscars, but then felt some burnout and did some other things for a while. His latest film, Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, came out in 2022 and people say they saw it but I don't believe them.
Screenplay: Four credited writers: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr., Armando Bó. For some reason, I was dreading rewatching this because my memory is that it was a drag, but I felt like I needed to cover the Best Picture winner. I don't know why I thought that, it's not that at all! It's very funny, sharp, and works thematically. It's a great screenplay.
Performances: Michael Keaton was perfect for this part. Emma Stone still figuring out what she wants to be, but she's close. Ed Norton is cast as the asshole who thinks he's better than everyone else. Hm. Very weird to see Zach Galifianakis in a serious part.
Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki's work is best remembered as "the movie that's shot in really long takes" and a decade later, yep, that's what it is. There's no doubt that it was a pain in the ass and a lot of hard work, but I feel as though it's probably used better thematically in other movies. To be fair, it was Iñárritu's idea. It reminds me of those Vogue 73 Questions videos. The scene where he's walking around the corner of the theatre in his skivvies made me think of this new revival of Sunset Boulevard...coming soon to the St. James Theatre!
Fun Fact: Why do they say that the St. James only has 800 seats? Look at it! It seats over 1,700. It's the sixth-largest Broadway theatre.
Best Moment: I like the time they are acting in the play. It looks terrible!
Imaginary Accolade: Most Forgotten Title - The movie's actual title is BİRDMAN (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).
Everything is too long! Is it too long? 119 minutes. 2 minutes away from being too long.
Rating: I liked Keaton's bit in The Flash.
Credit: Plot synopsis from Letterboxd via TMDb.
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