Reviewed by: Greg Mueller

Greg's Score:
8.50

Plot/Story

10

Characters

10

Acting

9

Cinematography

8

Production Design

9

Soundtrack

4

Execution

9

Emotional Impact

9


Review:

If you can overlook the few personal issues I have with Birdman, it can easily be a 10 out of 10. Birdman is a totally unique movie that has a lot to say about a lot of subjects and manages to express them all without ever feeling pretentious or preachy. Every performance is great, although Emma Stone doesn't always hit all her marks and the script is perfect, feeling both very real and very surreal at the same time. Without divulging many plot details, I will say that the trailers paint a much different picture than what we actually get. Birdman is about a washed up actor (who used to portray a superhero in blockbuster movies) who is producing, writing, and acting in a play in hopes to both reinvigorate his career and establish him as a real actor. What really takes the film to another level is how the casting almost makes the film seem autobiographical; Michael Keaton was definitely not the celebrity he once was when this was released, Edward Norton is kind of known as a total ass hole that is a terrific actor, and Emma Stone wasn't too far removed from teenage angst. The movie is damn near perfect, but I have a few issues that probably won't bother other people. The entire movie is made to appear that it is one seamless take, which leads to beautiful and creative transitions, but it often feels like it's filmed on handheld because it gets really shaky. I'm not talking about "shaky cam" from a horror movie or when the camera runs with a character. We constantly hover around the characters and the camera shakes way too much. My only other issue is that the entire score is jazz drums. It's not just that I hate jazz, I really don't think it's necessary and I don't think it works for the film. I understand that the movie is made to feel like it's improvised and the drums certainly feel the same, but unless it was being used as another way to make the movie really feel like it's taking place in New York City, it doesn't make sense. It doesn't work as a score and it's much more distracting than an enhancement to the film. Birdman is a straight forward movie that offers plenty of places to branch off and analyze minute details.

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