Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.5

Birdman Blu-ray Movie Review

All About Riggan.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 12, 2015

Confession time: I never totally bought Michael Keaton as Batman . The actor’s less than buff physique was one drawback, of course, though that could be “augmented” by a somewhat ridiculously puffy, muscle bound rubber suit. But Keaton’s persona seemed slightly (or maybe more than merely slightly) snarky at times, as evidenced in any number of turns in films like Beetlejuice and Night Shift, something that seemed at odds with the tamped down, darker ambience that Tim Burton sought to bring to the venerable DC Comics reboot. Keaton experienced a fan backlash at the time, with many issuing a litany of complaints that at least partially echoed the above sentiments, but a lot of those people were won over once the film (and its sequel Batman Returns) actually came out. Keaton demurred from making a third Batman outing when Tim Burton left the franchise, and Batman Forever featured Val Kilmer in the iconic role. It’s perhaps ironic that due to the disconnect between the character of Batman and Keaton’s perceived persona, the actor didn’t initially seen to be inescapably linked to the role, as Adam West had been after Batman: The Complete Series left the air. That said, Keaton’s post-Batman filmography was a kind of spotty amalgamation of sometimes second rate material interspersed with occasional glimmers of brilliance (Jackie Brown). As the 1990s gave way to the new millenium, Keaton’s film roles took a decided downturn, with generic entries like Herbie Fully Loaded seeming to reinforce the image that he was a “has been” who would now be relegated to B-movie character parts, if even that, and remembered largely if not totally for the Batman films. Perhaps that’s one reason why Birdman seemed to virtually erupt into the cultural zeitgeist in an unexpected way. Rarely has an actor reinvigorated his or her career so substantially with one film, but as this review goes live, Keaton is already the winner of a Golden Globe for his performance and is the odds on favorite to take home an Academy Award for his portrayal of onetime film superstar Riggan Thomson, a guy who, not so coincidentally like Keaton himself, one sold “billions” in tickets as an iconic superhero, albeit one who is in the film called Birdman. Thomson has been down on his luck for some time and has decided to reinvent himself as a stage commodity, bringing an adaptation of a Raymond Carver piece to Broadway in a play that he not only is starring in, but which he has also written and is co-producing and directing.

The list of films skewering either the filmmaking world or its sibling the theater world is long and rather august, including such legendary outings as Sunset Boulevard, All About Eve, and Singin' in the Rain. Birdman sets itself apart from many of these films, however, by offering a relentlessly gritty, even dowdy, look at backstage life, something that contrasts rather incredibly with the more whimsical, magical realist, elements that intrude into the story with a fair amount of regularity. Take the opening shot of the film, for example. Riggan is in his dilapidated dressing room in the St. James Theater, meditating in a yoga posture in anticipation of going onstage for a rehearsal. It takes a moment for one salient fact to become apparent, though—Riggan appears to be levitating in lotus pose.

Within relatively short order, Birdman introduces a gaggle of other characters, including Riggan’s seemingly dour, antagonistic daughter Sam (Emma Stone, Oscar nominated); harried attorney and co-producer Jake (Zach Galifianakis); and actors Lesley (Naomi Watts) and Laura (Andrea Riseborough). It’s handled so organically that some who haven’t read the massive press surrounding this film might not realize it, but all of this opening flurry of activity, and in fact almost all of the film itself, is captured in unedited long takes (a la Hitchcock’s Rope). Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s camera is a hyperkinetic microscope, flitting and darting throughout the labyrinthine halls of the theater, reinforcing that idea that there is burgeoning chaos at every turn in this production.

That chaos erupts onstage when a supporting actor Riggan is already unhappy with suffers a horrifying injury, one which Riggan oddly takes credit for, insisting to Jake that he has telekinetic powers that allow him to control at least some of his environment. This is one of Birdman’s most outré elements, one which is not just referred to ambiguously, but which is depicted explicitly on screen, obviously introducing a paranormal aspect to Riggan that the opening levitation scene allusively presaged.

The injury to the actor brings the introduction of the last major character in the film, Mike Shiner (Edward Norton, Oscar nominated) a primo don actor and Broadway legend who just so happens to be Lesley’s boyfriend. Mike is brought on as a replacement, and enters into an almost instantly contentious relationship with Riggan. Playing out against all of this onstage madness is the continuing inner dialogue Riggan has with his Birdman persona, an all seeing, all knowing force that speaks in the sort of husky tones that Keaton made famous in the Batman films, and which alternates between building Riggan up and tearing him down.

The sheer audacious originality of the screenplay (co-written by Iñárritu) and its realization by Iñárritu in his guise as director is the one thing critics tend to hate—it's largely indescribable. In fact there’s a wonderful scene between Riggan and an uppity New York Times theater critic named Tabitha Dickinson (Lindsay Duncan) where he berates her work as nothing more than mere “descriptions” and “comparisons.” It’s a blistering critique of criticism and one that seems to be central to Iñárritu’s attempt to bypass the rational mind to touch something more profound, if decidedly more ephemeral.

The magical realism, which in other hands probably would have come off as overly precious, is an integral part of this gambit, for it’s inexplicable by design, short circuiting what is otherwise a fairly straightforward narrative of a Broadway play opening in disarray. Is Riggan specially powered, as seems to be hinted at rather vigorously in any number of sequences? Or is he simply just another massively deluded actor, as at least one sequence, where Riggan’s “flying” is shown to actually be a taxi ride, tends to portray? Iñárritu willfully shies away from any overt answers, a tendency which is nowhere more obvious than in the perplexing final scene, where Riggan’s very existence (or at least survival) may be questioned by some.

In a cinematic world rife with cookie cutter “entertainments,” Birdman’s completely unique if bizarre treatment of its subject matter is less like a breath of fresh air than a bracing, ice cold “bucket challenge” dumped unceremoniously over the collective heads of both filmmakers and audience members alike. For a film this stuffed full of whimsy and intentional artifice, the grounding of the performances is just another reason to come away from the viewing experience slightly awestruck. Keaton doesn’t just run through a gamut of emotions here, he can segue seamlessly from rage to humor at the veritable drop of a hat (or Birdman cowl). Stone, whose orbs seem to make her tailor made to have starred in Big Eyes, brings spunk and vulnerability to the role of Sam, a girl struggling with “Daddy issues” and stints in rehab. While consigned largely to the sidelines, Naomi Watts and Andrea Riseborough have great moments as witnesses to the whirlwind. (My own favorite lines in the film come courtesy of this pair, when Lesley questions why she doesn’t have more self esteem, and Laura quite calmly answers, “You’re an actress.”) Amy Ryan is also on hand briefly as Riggan’s ex-wife, and brings a sweet naturalism to a somewhat underwritten role. And Edward Norton is simply perfect as an entitled, bratty actor who assumes he's the center of the known universe even if he suspects that he's only a bit player.

It’s Iñárritu's fabulist approach that ultimately is Birdman’s most distinctive but potentially most problematic element. It’s no great secret that actors tend to be self-delusional types, and in that regard, the bizarre magical realism of Birdman is probably more organically integrated into the film than in Iñárritu's previous entry Biutiful, where sudden flights of fancy were prone to provoke a “WTF?” reaction more than anything. There is still that “WTF?” response running rampant throughout Birdman, but it’s part and parcel of attempting to figure out exactly what’s going on inside Riggan’s addled head. The fact that Iñárritu (and his co-writers) seem deliberately discursive may ultimately annoy viewers who are otherwise fairly enchanted with this rather dark fairy tale. It’s notable that two of the co-writers are on record as stating even they’re not quite sure what the film’s enigmatic closing moments might mean, and it’s also notable that the ending of the completed film is not what was originally planned (a quick Googling of Birdman and Johnny Depp will reveal some perhaps surprising results). But for those who treasure questions at least as much as any potential answers, Birdman is simply one of the most remarkably idiosyncratic achievements in recent (and probably more than simply recent) film history.

Birdman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Birdman is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Digitally shot with a variety of Arri Alexa products, and offered on Blu-ray with a healthy bitrate and roomy BD-50, this is by and large a stunningly beautiful high definition presentation, though curmudgeons (and you know who you are) may find one or two very small things to complain about. As mentioned above in the main body of the review, Iñárritu and ace cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (Gravity 3D ) filmed Birdman in long, unedited takes, and with an emphasis on handheld cameras, Steadicam and otherwise. Surprisingly, there's very little "jiggly cam" on display here, and the result is an appealingly sharp and clear looking presentation. While a lot of the film takes place in very dimly lit backstage environments, shadow detail remains strong and in close-ups fine detail is often astonishing. Whimsical CGI elements can look just slightly soft when compared to the bulk of this presentation. There's little if any overt color grading on display here, and while some scenes play out in fairly dense colored lighting (see screenshots 2 and 10), detail is only rarely affected. And now for those curmudgeonly issues. An opening pan across Riggan's dressing room reveals just incremental image instability, something that is not repeated later in the film. And a couple of quick pans across changing lighting schemes reveal just the barest hint of banding. These issues are mentioned only for those who like every jot and tittle of a release's supposed "failings" to be documented. They are minimal to the point that many may not even notice them, and for all intents and purposes, this is a problem free presentation.

Birdman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Birdman's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix offers a subtly immersive environment which presents the film's dialogue very cleanly while also featuring the propulsive punch of an unusual score that is made up entirely of drum cues interspersed with various classical snippets. There's good discrete channelization employed in the sometimes chaotic backstage world where various people are performing their tasks while the play is being presented (or rehearsed) on stage. The trap set cues are often disarmingly "present" in the mix, suddenly erupting through the surrounds as if to say, "Wake up! This isn't a dream!" Fidelity is top notch and there are no issues of any kind to report.

Birdman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Birdman: All Access (1080p; 33:28), which bears the appropriate subtitle A View from the Wings, has some great behind the scenes footage, including Iñárritu working to build team unity with his cast and crew.


• A Conversation with Michael Keaton and Alejandro G. Iñárritu (1080p; 14:03) is a wonderful interchange between the two, and fortuitously lets me off the hook in terms of providing "answers" to what various things mean in the film, since both emphasize the film as "experiential" rather than something that needs critical analysis.


• Gallery: Chivo's On Set Photography (1080p; 3:30) offers both a Manual and Auto Advance option (the timing is for the Auto Advance option).

Birdman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Confession time: I may not have totally bought Michael Keaton as Batman, but I went for his Birdman hook, line and sinker. What a captivating and ultimately astonishing film this is. It may ask more questions than it ultimately answers, but you've never seen anything quite like it. A beautiful (Biutiful?) mix of backstage shenanigans and magical realism, Birdman is one of the highlights of this past year's theatrical releases and even without a bevy of supplements will certainly be among the best Blu-rays of 2015. Highly recommended.