My favourite film

 Birdman (the unexpected virtue of ignorance)

One of my favourite films of all time is ‘Birdman (the unexpected virtue of ignorance).’ ‘Birdman,’ was released in 2014 by the production companies Regency enterprises and Fox Searchlight pictures, along with others. 

This movie was directed by Alejandro G. Iῆάrritu who has also directed ‘the revenant’, ‘Babel’ and many others. 

‘Birdman’ has an exceptionally talented cast consisting of Michael Keaton, who plays Riggan, the protagonist, Emma Stone plays Sam, who is Riggan’s daughter. There is also Edward Norton who plays ‘Mike Shiner,’ a quite controversial character in my opinion who clashes often with Riggan. Naomi Watts also stars in ‘Birdman,’ as Lesley, who is Mike’s Partner and an actress in the play that Riggan has written.

The reason I love this film so much is because it showed me the reality of life. How life really is not perfect, in fact it is far from that. And much like reality, this film is far from perfection. However, it defies this by giving you alternate ways of viewing situations and encourages you to use your imagination to see the possibilities of life rather than just settling with reality. Its shows a middle age man, slowly losing his grip on his career and is trying so desperately to hold on to what he loves which is acting. In his prime he acted in and action series called ‘birdman,’ in which he was a superhero who looked like a bird. Birdman’s voice, however, is still in his head long after his career in the series was over; still telling him what to do and calling him pathetic and useless.

Riggan’s goal in the movie changes however one that sticks with him is that he wants to be remembered. He wants everyone to love him and to be accepted. Possibly why he enjoys acting so much because he likes the attention. I have always been worried about being forgotten even since I was a young child. I am still scared about getting older; I feel like I need to make a difference to the world in order to be remembered or to matter, so I can empathise with Riggan. I also wanted to be an actor when I was younger, I loved performing so much but as I got older, I realised how hard it is to make it, and how unhappy life can be as a performer. I also spent an incredibly long part of my life seeking for peoples acceptance, which Riggan spends the whole movie doing, when I would have been better off accepting myself and knowing I am good enough, which Riggan, debatably, achieves.

The plot of the film is based around a play that Riggan has written in the hopes of saving his career. He also stars in the play along with his colleagues. As the movie progresses, so does the tension. This is mirrored in the soundtrack of the film which is mainly played by a set of drums in a jazz like style. For example, in scenes of tension, the drums with be played loudly and quickly. I would like to associate this with Riggan’s inner anxiety/ feelings. I can relate to this feeling, because when I am panicking or feeling anxious everything seems to be going extremely fast and loud. It makes me feel like I’m not alone when feeling stress. Also, the camera work is done my favourite cinematographer. Lubezki makes the majority of the movie look as if it were done in one shot. The whole movie is done in tracking shots, which makes the film constantly moving, chaotic, and relentless. Also, as time goes on, the more Riggan listens to Birdman’s voice in his head and lets him take over. At the beginning, it is implied that the voice inside his head is due to schizophrenia. However later on Birdman is in fact given a body and you see him flying next to Riggan whilst talking to him. 

Which leads me onto my next reason why I love this film. There is a perfect blend of realism and surrealism. The reason why kids find Disney films so enjoyable is because of the magic and fantasy behind them. There are flying carpets and animals that speak and fairy godmothers. Anything is possible. I believe that Birdman also gives you that chance to use your imagination. The film is divided sharply into two beliefs. What is real and what could be real. For example, Riggan is portrayed to have powers from the very beginning. The opening scene is him quite literally floating when he is meditating. Is he imagining it? Or does he actually have powers that he isn’t allowed to show anyone? Is it Birdman that is making him able to do this? Or is it all in his head? Its up to you, and I love that concept. The final scene also uses this. After being driven to madness and using a real gun instead of a fake gun for the performance, Riggan wakes up in hospital after a failed suicide attempt. On a positive note, his show has now made it because of this. He is going to be remembered; however, he throws this all away, or supposedly does. After his daughter, Sam, leaves the room to get a vase for some flowers. Riggan is drawn to his hospital window as he sees Birdman flying around. It is heavily hinted he jumps out of the window to join birdman. Obviously, a human cannot survive this fall as they were many stories high. So, is Riggan dead? 

There are two ways you can look at is. This is because when Sam comes back, Riggan is no where to be seen. She frantically runs to the window and looks down shocked, implying that Riggan’s body is on the ground, but then slowly pans to look up at the sky and starts smiling and laughing. This could mean that Riggan can fly and the powers are real. See it however you want, but I like to believe in the version of him flying. The version that does not seem real, but what if it could be? There is always that what if.
And that is why Birdman is my favourite film.