Birdman

Finally got a chance to see "Birdman", and it's quite a ride, mainly due to the story being told through long tracking shots, obviously spliced together at opportune points, but still very ambitious and skillfully done. Can't imagine the technical lighting requirements that had to be solved to get the tracking shots to look uniform and non-disjointed or distracting. And then you add in the directing, and the acting components, it's a film that keeps moving on its own momentum simply through the camerawork and plot rhythms. Director Inarritu handles all of the material quite deftly, engagingly so.

Story-wise, it's a bit meta with respect to entertainment, whether it be from Hollywood, or on Broadway, the truth of critics, and even social media entertainment engagement component that plagues us today. Riggan Thomas (Michael Keaton), having experienced fame and fortune early in his acting career as "Birdman" (a la "Batman"), comes back to Broadway with his own play (encompassing story/vision/directorial/acting elements) that may as well be his last stand to remain relevant in the entertainment business himself, his internal monologue is peppered with doubts and ominous thoughts.

The supporting cast (Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, Zach Galifinakis, Amy Ryan, Lindsay Duncan, and Andrea Riseborough) is also solid as they drift in and out of the story as we mostly follow Riggan throughout the film, but not always just his point of view.

I give it 3 stars, or a grade of B.