Topic: Birdman
Was gonna post in general movies thread, but honestly, if fucking Hobbit 2 can have its own thread, Birdman deserves a thread. Plus I figure there's enough speculative stuff about what it means that people might want to discuss as it opens in more and more theaters.
Short of it is: I've seen it twice now in the last 3 days. Could honestly buy another ticket tomorrow night I love it so much.
Everyone will get hung up on the single-take aspect, which yes, is fucking astonishing. Thing is, it's not the fact that it's a single take, it's that the camera-work and lighting is exceptional in every scene, AND that they pull it all off within the constraints of the single-shot format. Children of Men was my reigning champ for this stuff up till now (Gravity is kinda cheating since its mostly CG), but Birdman knocks it out of the park. I'm trying to think of if in-shot time-transitions have been done like this before, I'm sure there's an example but I can't think of one.
Then you have the amaaaazing jazz drum score, which I've definitely never seen done before, and is terrific and perfect (and A+ on the credits sequences btw).
All paired with a movie that despises the superhero stuff as much as I do, and pulls great performances out of everyone involved. Keaton is great sure, but this also might be my favorite Norton role, Emma Stone crushes it, Riseborough is adorable (between Contagion, Oblivion, and this she's kicking ass in supporting roles last few years), Galifinakis is toned down but hilarious.
There's a few clunky lines here and there, but it doesn't bother me in the least when taken in the grand scheme of this movie (its no different than a movie like Network, which is similarly declarative and over-the-top at times).
I don't know, all I can say is if you've been as cynical about the future of movies as I've been lately, Birdman is a hell of an inspiration, and if nothing else, is an incredibly fun and easy watch.
