



Diana in a role more befitting of her unplumbed talent. Whilst everyone else has been falling over themselves congratulating Iñárritu on the casting of ex-Batman Keaton in the lead role – a rather unsubtle joke – I’d like to use this opportunity to praise almost everybody else in the ensemble cast. True, Keaton is given more to do than he has been in years, but he’s no revelation: that praise should be re-directed towards Emma Stone as Riggan’s post-rehab daughter who oozes talent throughout, as does Lindsay Duncan as a scathing arts critic determined to bring Thomson’s world down. Zach Galifianakis is at long last given a serious role and Naomi Watts is rescued from the recent shame ofin a role more befitting of her unplumbed talent.









Gravity could only dream of, with almost the entire film bearing the appearance of one continuous shot that flawlessly transitions from scene to scene. You can keep your eyes peeled for the seams, but you won’t find them: you’ll be too busy jogging your knee up and down to Antonio Sanchez’s jumbled drum score (a lyrical reflection of Riggan’s own confused headspace) and transfixed by Keaton and his cohorts traversing the neon-stained caverns of Broadway. Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki finally fulfils the fantasy thatcould only dream of, with almost the entire film bearing the appearance of one continuous shot that flawlessly transitions from scene to scene. You can keep your eyes peeled for the seams, but you won’t find them: you’ll be too busy jogging your knee up and down to Antonio Sanchez’s jumbled drum score (a lyrical reflection of Riggan’s own confused headspace) and transfixed by Keaton and his cohorts traversing the neon-stained caverns of Broadway.





Birdman is a film of mostly subtle comedy. True, some scenes of hysterical disagreement between Keaton and Ed Norton as the crazed method actor are played for audible laughs, but it’s the quieter hints at the superiority complex of theatre that works the real magic. If anything it’s refreshing to see an American comedy that isn’t populated with middle-aged men shouting very loudly at crude toilet humour, but a carefully constructed and intelligent film that is actually about something and accomplishes an entertaining climax… even if a clearly defined ending is inexplicably followed by fifteen minutes that really don’t work. From the jibes taken at the current string of comic book movies (Birdman most notably sporting a Christian Bale-esque gravelly voice) to the battle between theatre and cinema,is a film of mostly subtle comedy. True, some scenes of hysterical disagreement between Keaton and Ed Norton as the crazed method actor are played for audible laughs, but it’s the quieter hints at the superiority complex of theatre that works the real magic. If anything it’s refreshing to see an American comedy that isn’t populated with middle-aged men shouting very loudly at crude toilet humour, but a carefully constructed and intelligent film that is actually about something and accomplishes an entertaining climax… even if a clearly defined ending is inexplicably followed by fifteen minutes that really don’t work.





★★

★★

☆

– leading the pack at the forthcoming awards season – has finally reached the shores of the UK. From director Alejandro González Iñárritu (whose remarkable debut featurewas my gateway to world cinema) comes the story of Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton), an aging actor determined to put his history of mega-budget superhero films behind him and return to the public sphere by adapting and starring in a play by Raymond Carver. As he attempts to put his life back together, his invisible alter-ego (the titular Birdman) constantly spouts abuse inside his head, driving him towards his goal with renewed fervour.