Written by / 11/01/2014 / No comments / , , , , ,

MICHAEL KEATON STARRING IN BIRDMAN

year: 2014 rating: ***
Orson Welles, who opened TOUCH OF EVIL with a brilliant four-minute tracking shot without cuts (intentionally outdone by Robert Altman in THE PLAYER while Fred Ward mentions TOUCH OF EVIL), once noted that for directors, a scene without cuts separates the men from the boys. Well in this case, BIRDMAN filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu is Methuselah…

The entire movie consists of several long sequences without the impression of any cuts... A prolonged single take allowing the actors to venture backstage and on stage of a Raymond Carver adaptation that Keaton’s Riggan Thomas... who once played a cinematic superhero named Birdman... is starring in to revamp a nostalgic career.

As is completely obvious, Keaton’s casting is no accident… He was Batman in two films and Riggan was Birdman in three: And neither has broken any real ground since. But pop culture coincidence aside, BIRDMAN feels more like a John Cassavetes meets Darren Aronofsky impromptu piece, zigzagging through cathartic diatribes only to be hindered by distracting special effects.  

Keaton does a good job whenever speaking his mind with a desperately primitive heart and soul. One particular scene as he lectures a snobby critic is topnotch. But there are moments where he seems to be going through the motions – yet these motions leap beyond any character he's ever played, which could be the intention all along. Even when BIRDMAN flies higher than necessary, there’s always something, and someone… including Edward Norton as a moody stage actor and Emma Stone as Riggan’s disgruntled daughter… to marvel at. But Keaton deserved a more subtle approach to be completely effective. In a canvas stretched beyond its own paint, our hero gets lost in the shuffle.
Share This Post :
Tags : , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

All Time Popular

Featured Post

ORSON WELLES PUTS ANTHONY PERKINS THROUGH 'THE TRIAL'

Anthony Perkins in Orson Welles's THE TRIAL Year: 1962 Rating: ***1/2 Before his final William Shakespeare adaptation CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT...

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM
Movie Reviews, Interviews, Articles and Pop Culture from White Heat to Blue City

RIP ACTOR KEN HUTCHISON

TOTAL HITS

Popular Trending

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE
RANDOM QUOTE: "This is good, and, that's life." John Slattery as Roger on Mad Men

FILM NOIR & NEO NOIR CRIME

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)JUNGLE STREET 9)ANATOMY OF A MURDER 10)THE CROWDED SKY 11))THE MAN FROM LARAMIE 12)SHARKS' TREASURE 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)THE SYSTEM 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)HIDDEN FEAR 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)NIGHT CREATURES 22)CURSE OF THE DEMON 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE BREAK 25)AIR PATROL 26)HANNIBAL BROOKS 27)EASY LIVING 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)FRENZY 30)THE ROARING TWENTIES 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)JACK NICHOLSON 1)VIRGINIA MAYO 2)SUE LYON 3)GENE TIERNEY 4)MERRY ANDERS 5)FAYE DUNAWAY DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)STANLEY KUBRICK 4)ORSON WELLES 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)JOHN LANDIS 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)VAL GUEST 9)JOHN CARPENTER 10)MICHAEL WINNER

BRITISH NEW WAVE CINEMA

RARITIES AND EXPLOITATION

HAMMER HORROR & THRILLER

Popular This Month

CHARLES BRONSON CINEMA

CINEMA OF DANA ANDREWS

WESTERN GENRE REVIEWS

PEAKING INTO THE SIXTIES

KICKING IN THE EIGHTIES

TALES AND REFLECTIONS

REVVING THE SEVENTIES

FOR HORROR MOVIE REVIEWS

Most Popular Last Year

RETURN TO THE HOMEPAGE