Today, something a little different: A brief anecdote illustrating how Phyllis is just the best and then a film review from Medium Happy’s resident master of the celluloid analysis –but not cellulite analysis–Chris Corbellini (“Yaaaaaay!”).

So, last night I arrive to Devil’s Gulch, a.k.a., the homestead, and Phyllis already has the lasagna warming on the stove and a fresh batch of homemade brownies ready. She’s the best (special kudos to Porge for the chauffeur service). Anyway, Phyllis wonders why I’m hobbling around and I tell her that I think I broke my toe. 

Seated across from me on the sofa, Phyllis tells me  that she, too, recently had a toe incident. She pulls off her left shoe as she shares a story about how she recently dropped a very heavy piece of roofing on her big toe. Then she pulls off her left sock. Then she looks down, somewhat quizzically. “Oh, it was the other foot.”

Classic Phyl.

Now, on to….

The Film Room: with Chris Corbellini

Birdman

**** (out of four stars)

Even with all its technical mastery and boldness of story, BIRDMAN really banks on what the audience remembers most about its lead actor, Michael Keaton. The guy played the title role in BATMAN over 20 years ago, transforming him from a respected actor to worldwide movie star and, it can be argued, launched comic book movies into the billion-dollar industry that it is today.  This one could have been a compelling watch as a barebones indie based on the following premise: where does Keaton’s real-life experiences end, and where does the performance begin? But director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu pushes for more, and it’s thrilling to see.

 

Keaton plays a fading movie star named Riggan Thomson who once portrayed a superhero named Birdman, and is now desperately trying to recapture that glory on Broadway by adapting the Raymond Carver short story “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.” Riggan is the director, lead, and bankroll of this passion project, and he juggles all of those responsibilities and the other people in his life in almost every scene. The story then keeps throwing him another chainsaw to juggle until he nearly drops them all. It’s not hard to fathom Keaton going through these experiences at different points of his career. Can you name another big-name film he’s been in since the performer wore Batman’s cape? That’s the point. Otherwise, BIRDMAN is Fellini’s 8½, for the Twitter generation, with bits from the John Ritter version of NOISES OFF.

 

The plot drives home the wanton cruelty that’s part of the package of being famous, from critics, frenemies, and even from family, and how that fame can further complicate the already-stressful creative process. It also hands these folks truckloads of cash, confidence and sex on a platinum platter, but you don’t glimpse even a frame of that here, it’s merely hinted at from Riggan’s heyday in the ‘90s. All you see is a 60ish man trying to get his next fix. If he could shoot fame into his veins, I have no doubt the character would (Related: he likes the booze).

 

BIRDMAN also captures a common, true-to-life trait among the super-successful in the television and film industry: when they have an idea or vision for something, nothing short of death will talk them out of it or even nudge them, ever-so-gently, in another direction. Riggan likes Carver’s work because the author had some kind words for a performance during the actor’s formative years. He also sees the prestige of Broadway. Nobody is able to steer him away from his obsession, not his manager (a buttoned-up Zach Galifianakis), who sees the books, or his family (Amy Ryan and Emma Stone), who sees the emotional toll and suffer from it themselves, or a fellow actor (Edward Norton), who understands the difficulties of executing it and is a handful on stage and off.

 

Norton really stands out here, and like Keaton, is playing on his reputation that he’s egotistical and difficult to work with in real life.  The first scene has him challenging Riggan about motivation of character, and at the moment you think the director is going to cold-cock him and re-establish his alpha-male status, the Norton character gives him a line reading that blows him away. Now Riggan must have him. The punches come later, after the talent eyes up the backside of Riggan’s daughter and torments a fellow actress (a fragile Naomi Watts) during a preview show.

 

On the roof of the theater Norton and Stone play “Truth or Dare” and the camera gets so tight on both that I noticed the actress was not wearing makeup, and the lens may have grazed Norton’s cheek. A lot of this movie is shot this way – as if you are the devil/angel on the actors’ shoulders, seeing everything as they do. A lot has been written about how the movie is filmed to look like a single tracking shot, as if the 119-minute run time is comprised of one long scene. And while some scene transitions are easy to spot (a walk into a darkened hallway, for instance, or a pan to another part of the set), I must admit even as a trained film editor I strained but couldn’t see how they cut up certain parts. No question, BIRDMAN is masterfully put together.

 

Not long ago I checked out the David Bowie exhibit at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, and the one thing that struck me was how the rock star said he wanted to look the way his music sounded.  Well, BIRDMAN was filmed, choreographed and edited to look the way its lead character feels, and yes, how he sounds to others. And while there will never be another like Bowie, he’s also not for everyone. So it goes with this film.

 

Indeed, though this is my first four-star review for mediumhappy.com, I cannot wholeheartedly recommend it to the masses. After the screening, inspired partially by a lovely night in Manhattan, I walked 21 city blocks back to my apartment trying to figure out how to explain this. Here’s my stab at it: BIRDMAN pushes some boundaries in film making, and all of the creative folks, from Keaton to the grips, happily went along for the flight. But there is no doubt some of the weirdness involved will glaze eyes over, especially the ending. I’d like to see the final tally at the box office, because while I think it’s a movie made for movie aficionados, playing well at Cannes doesn’t mean it’ll earn well in Cape Cod and Crescent City.

 

Then again, Keaton playing a spectacular version of Daffy Duck might be enough. I hope so. The actor gave this one everything – including a dash through Times Square wearing nothing but his Hanes. There’s no business like mocking show business.