'Birdman' Movie Review: Film Stirs Up Oscar Buzz
"Birdman" is currently playing in 231 theaters in the U.S. But that number is set to rise to 450 theaters in 100 markets.
Since it first started playing in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles, the movie has picked up a total of $5 million and earned a substantial amount of Oscar buzz for its lead actor Michael Keaton and co-stars Edward Norton and Emma Stone.
In the film, Keaton plays the role of Riggan Thomson, a star of the hugely successfully "Birdman" superhero films. In those films, Thomson played the role of Birdman thrice and then left the franchise. "Birdman" catches up with Thomson 20 years later when he is busy creating a play titled "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love."
What follows in the film is a series of episodes filmed in the form of a single take. The episodes show how Thomson is quickly losing grip on reality, imagining that he is Birdman and that Birdman is talking to him.
The ending of the movie sees Thomson in hospital with his nose shot off after he uses a real gun during the final scene, on the opening night of his play.
While in hospital, he opens the window and steps out, but his daughter Sam (Emma Stone) does not see his body and imagines that he has flown away.
Variety quotes Frank Rodriguez, Senior VP at Fox, as saying that the appeal of the film lies in the fact that it cannot be easily analyzed and that its "long, continuous shots, excoriation of comic book culture and ambiguous ending leave plenty for audiences to digest on Twitter and Facebook after the film ends."
Deadline in its report states that "Birdman" is going to be hot favorite in the Oscars and could even end up being nominated for Best Picture. It could also see nominations for Best Director (Alejandro González Iñárritu), Best Actor (Michael Keaton) and Best Supporting Actor (Edward Norton & Emma Stone).
