Right now, hands down, this is my pick for Best Picture and Best Actor. I think Linklater will pull out Best Director, J.K. Simmons and Patricia Arquette are pretty much locks for the Supporting categories and I think Wes Anderson will get Best Original Screenplay. Cinematography is a little harder to call, since I still haven't seen two of the nominees in that category, one of which was shot by Roger Deakins, but this one would be pretty hard to beat.Riggan Thompson (Michael Keaton) is an aging actor famous for playing a costumed superhero. He wants to achieve some legitimacy in his art form by directing and starring in a stage adaptation of a play. He has to contend with his estranged daughter (Emma Stone) fresh out of rehab, a narcissistic co-star (Edward Norton) trying to steal his glory, the nagging voice in his head telling him he should just cave and do Birdman 4, and the ever-present spectre of New York's most feared drama critic (Lindsay Duncan) whose reviews can make or break a play on opening night.
By now you've probably all read that the amazing thing about this movie is that it looks as if it were shot in one take, meaning that the camera seems to follow the actors around with no editing or cuts to show other scenes. This gives it a breathless feel, like we the audience are rushing after these people to hear what they have to say. It adds to the frenetic pace of the film, although some of the close-ups felt a little too close for me. I did absolutely love the number of Hollywood jokes that had been worked in, especially in the scene where Riggan is talking to his lawyer/producer (Zach Galifinakis) about a replacement actor after their first one was injured on set.
It is a comedy but not the "laugh out loud" kind. More of the "quiet sense of private amusement" kind. There is also a lot of blending of reality and fantasy. It is not going to be a movie that appeals to everyone but I think that as far as telling the story it is intending to tell, it gets its point across.
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