By Kyle Osborne
Like the pompous ass I can be (when I’m at my very best) I have already predicted 3 of the 5 Best Actor Nominees, which will be announced sometime in 2015. Eddie Redmayne for “The Theory of Everything” is the surest of sure things. Steve Carrell for “Foxcatcher” is a more risky (reckless?) prediction, given that the film is as cold as it is brilliant and Carrell’s character is off-putting, in the way that weird, eccentric murderers can be.
Michael Keaton is, however, a lock. Bet the farm. I’m not saying he’ll win, but he will deserve his almost certain place among the other nominees for his work in “Birdman (Or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
I hate to hype things that have already gotten so much attention, but this movie has earned every accolade. Keaton plays a character that seems very much like himself—a guy who was once the face of a super hero franchise, but lately hasn’t been getting a lot of work. He decides to mount a Broadway play because, we suspect, he’s looking for not only a comeback vehicle, but also a dose of credibility that one loses after earning millions in a super charged bird suit.
The film is a backstage black comedy, with big laughs generated by Edward Norton playing a method actor who has gone over the edge and Emma Stone as Keaton’s estranged daughter who is dipping her toe into a possible reconciliation with Dad.
Like Eddie Redmayne, Keaton doesn’t force the pathos, he’s playing a real guy in a (without spoiling things) partly unreal situation. We feel empathy for his character and almost want to put him under our wing, no pun intended. You may wonder why such a seemingly straight-forward story has been relegated to a smallish release in Art House theaters. My guess is because of the bits of “Magical Realism” that weave their way in and out of the story line. Are these moments too “strange” for mainstre audiam audiences? I don’t think so, but there’s a good reason why no one has hired me to make such decisions at a film studio.
My point is that not as many audiences or Academy voters will see “Birdman,” but they should make the effort. It’s a beautiful film.
“Birdman (Or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) gets 4 out of 4 Stars