A searing confrontation between a heart that never grows old and a body that fades, a duality of cowardice and bravery that stirs the old man’s soul in a duel with a villain, an accidental cowardice that overwhelms a departed courage, and an over-the-top star who succumbs to the ordinary but does not want to be ordinary comes to life.
2014 was a year of independent cinema, with independent productions such as Boyhood, The Drummer, The Vanishing Lover and The Grand Budapest Hotel making their way onto the annual Top 10 list and winning awards at major festivals. This year’s festival was a great opportunity for independent films to showcase their strengths as the new favourites of the academy and to give independent film fans all over the world a great treat.
In a crowded field of independent films, Birdman is the most independent of the independent films, and moreover, it is a thorough author film. The difference in Birdman lies in the unique editing, but also in the quirky and screwy characterisation. Under the sharp and individual shots, each character is like a bird-man with a pair of crazy wings, showing the most sultry magic in a small stage theatre. Many of you may think that this Birdman is an inspirational film after reading the synopsis, but honestly, the inspirational theme is nowhere to be found throughout, and the frantic pace is present throughout. With crazy editing, crazy cinematography, crazy soundtrack and crazy actors, Birdman is more like a shotgun loaded with aphrodisiacs that hits everyone’s adrenaline, or maybe the creation of the film itself was a super crazy move.
The most iconic character in the film is Michael Keaton as Reagan Thomson. Thomson. The towering superhero, Birdman, disappeared 20 years ago, leaving a balding man in his dotage to spend the rest of his life in the theatre. The exhaustion of over-the-hill stardom became Reagan’s greatest psychological burden, his distress with life stemming from a fading marginalisation, the hurt of marginalisation leading further to his poor care of his daughter, his guilt over his wife, his shunning of his lover and his mean-spiritedness towards the cast. In his acting career, his clichéd acting and unchanging lines add up to a cumbersome double layer. The elderly Birdman’s heart is like a burden tied in a thousand knots, easy to tie but too difficult to untie.
Redemption comes from the past, as the once-abandoned Birdman follows Reagan’s body as if he were a villain living in his heart, and in conversation with Reagan reveals the brave, crazy, neurotic and powerful temperament of Birdman at his peak. A searing confrontation between a heart that never grows old and a body that fades, a duality of cowardice and bravery that stirs the old man’s soul in a duel with the villain, an accident-like inertia of cowardice that overwhelms the passing courage, and a resigned but uncomfortable over-the-top star comes to life.
After a partner’s accident, Reagan, who has nothing to offer but theatre, is struck by the sudden arrival of young actor Charlie. The stubborn stage manager feels more and more vulnerable in his work with Charlie, and his experiential acting skills are exploded by the performers to the point of no return, even some of them teach you to behave in minutes.
The loss of his career and life made Reagan rethink himself, but also triggered the switch to activate the Birdman in his body, and the “no madness, no life” energy was fully released after the successful previews. And to make it even crazier, the madness is carried on by the director off stage, off theatre and even off screen, as he becomes one with his soul, the free and light-hearted birdman is unrestrained, the world is at my mercy. In the end, Reagan’s daughter’s smile of relief as she sees her father soar into the clouds and become immortal is the most perfect relief in a birdman’s life. The real Birdman belongs to the sky and to God. The mundane world cannot bind a superhuman being who is above all others and overlooking all life.
In retrospect, the authorial style of the one-man show version of Birdman is more like a documentary of the life of its star, Michael Keaton. From the superhero action star of Batman Begins 20 years ago, to the forgotten, the obscure and the broken, to the breakthrough of his career, this is the most realistic portrayal of his life. After Birdman, there is no difference between Batman and Birdman, just Michael Keaton’s alter ego. After Birdman, there is no difference between Batman and Birdman, just an alter ego of Michael Keaton.
In a deeper sense, the success of the film is not only about Michael Keaton himself, but also about inspiring him. The success of this film is not only due to Michael Keaton himself, but also to the fact that it has stimulated the American film industry to take care of and protect its past stars, and even to rethink the existing star system. Those heroes who have faded into oblivion may have lost their former excellence through old age, but the age line can be blurred indefinitely when the fire of performance is not extinguished. Give them a delicate seed and it won’t take long for it to bear a flower of immense splendour. I think that heroes never die, they just fade away.
