BIRDMAN is one of the year's best films. It's essentially yet another riff on Fellini's masterpiece 8 1/2, but, has enough of a modernist slant that it stands on its own. *

The cast is superb. Once you get on a bead on what Inarritu and his collaborators are doing, it is also a heck of an entertaining piece as well as a thoughtful one. Like 8 1/2's Guido (Marcello Mastroainni), this a movie that really gets inside the head of its protagonist - his dreams, fears, nightmares etc. Michael Keaton basically plays Michael Keaton - an actor who was once the lead in the biggest franchise on the planet (Birdman), but, who walks away as the sequels get progressively worse (riddle you that, Batman).

Much has been made of Lubezki's camerwork which seems to resemble one long continuous take. Sorry, but, after GRAVITY and that one sequence in CHILDREN OF MEN, I'm just not as impressed anymore. With digital and CGI it's not as daunting a challenge as it once was. Technically well-done, but it gets more and more gimmicky as times goes on. A bigger issue is the ending, which seems anti-climactic and hammers home what has already been stated in the scenes leading up to it. Inarritu's best work so far, but, he has this tendency to repeat and bluntly emphasize his themes.

Fortunately, the movie overall is strong enough to overcome this minor misstep. It will be a major awards contender - and justifiably so.


*(without getting into spoilers, there are two or three direct ripoffs...er....hommages to 8 1/2. And, Inarritu says that before Keaton was signed, his intent was to make a movie about a Director, not an actor).