Birdman (2014)

I mean seriously what can you expect when the director of Amores Perros (2000) and Babel (2006) Alejandro González Iñárritu teams up with the cinematographer of Children of Men (2006) and Gravity (2013) Emmanuel Lubezki? It is nothing less but mind-blowing piece of cinema with brain breaking cinematography of epic proportions. Until I watched this I thought Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) had no fit contender for this years Oscars in cinematography category but boy I was wrong. And now the battle has got mad.

Birdman is a very unique movie that actually gives the feel of a stage play. This is directly related with the plot of the movie, as the movie is all about a former celebrity actor who used to star in a superhero movie is making his debut in Broadway through a stage drama that is actually written and directed by him while playing the key role.

The movie from start to end is pretty much simulated to be taken in one long shot. There are one or two places where it breaks the flow and jumps times but still the director has made a brilliant effort to keep everything in line so neatly that somewhere down the line you start to appreciate this amazing quality of Birdman. I have no idea how the team has managed to pull this one out (Guess it’s the technique they call as tracking shots) but for me it is nothing like I have experienced before in a movie and it simply blew my senses away. “This is one hell of a movie magic,” I said to my self.

Backed by this excellent cinematography Birdman tells a story so brilliantly that thins the line between reality and imagination.  There are certain moments it manages to play with the viewers’ minds (definitely at the end). And it is obvious that the performances of Birdman is nothing but phenomenal as well.  Michael Keaton, Edward Norton Emma Stone seems to be giving their very best here and it’s a pleasure to see them so stunningly brilliant in their roles.

While Birdmnan does not completely fall in to the genre of a psychological thriller it does have some elements in common with Black Swan (2010), which I was eagerly comparing when some scenes unfolded. Yet Birdman is a completely new movie experience that has lot of genuine qualities all the way.  Just to keep it short but do the top honors, Birdman is a movie that combines best of the best in to a heart-stopping film for two hours and it sure deserves to be in those golden pages of history of cinema.

Genre: Drama | Comedy

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu

My score 4.5/5