STACK #128 Jun 2016

DVD & BD

B irdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) represents a radical departure for Mexican-born filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu, whose penchant for non-linear narratives in which tragic events unite disparate characters made him a favourite of the arthouse circuit with films like Amores Perros (2000), 21 Grams (2003) and Babel (2006). Iñárritu’s first black comedy is set in a Broadway theatre, where former screen superhero Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) is mounting an adaptation of Raymond Carver’s story What We Talk About When We Talk About Love , in the hope of reinventing himself as a serious actor. But the arrival of his daughter (Emma Stone) who’s just out of rehab, his ex-wife (Amy Ryan), and an ALTER FEATURE EGO

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Alejandro G. Iñárritu, the director of dark dramas like Amores Perros , 21 Grams and Babel, ventures out of his comfort zone with the Oscar-winning, backstage black comedy BIRDMAN.

egotistical Method actor (Edward Norton) threatens to derail the production before opening night. “It was new territory, and I was definitely out of my comfort zone,” Iñárritu admits. But the transitory nature of success and the lengths an actor will go to remain relevant was something he was eager to explore, and the character of Riggan Thomson provided the perfect conduit.

Flawed characters driven by doubts and contradictions are a staple of Iñárritu’s films, and the director saw in Riggan a quixotic and profoundly human figure whose ego has run amok – a condition expressed in the film by segues into magic realism and inner monologues, delivered in the growling tones of Riggan’s Birdman persona. “Birdman is Riggan’s super ego, and from Birdman’s perspective, Riggan has lost his mind by doing this play that is clearly beneath them,” offers Iñárritu. “From Riggan’s perspective, it’s Birdman that has lost his mind. From the perspective of the era, both are irrelevant. “The modern definition of accomplishment – people want to be famous immediately, not from a body of work developed over years,” he continues. “The immediacy of social media can easily distort the reality of one person, especially Riggan, who has to fulfill expectations of what it is to be famous. And all this is new to him, that crossover is difficult. This is the story of a man trying to prove that he is more than that, more popular than the ‘liked’ guy. But in today’s world, where irony is king, anybody who wants to be earnest or honest is crucified. It’s an absurd, surreal world. In the end, I just tried

No matter how successful you are... it's always an illusion, it's temporary

“I was interested in exploring the battles with the ego, the idea that no matter how successful you are, whether in money or recognition, it’s always an illusion. It’s temporary,” he says. “When you think you want to empower the people to validate you, when you finally get them, you soon find an impermanence in that joy.”

to recount in a funny way the disasters of our human nature to reconcile, if not with the defects or faults of the world and our nature, with the way we approach and live them.”

• Birdman is out June 11

JUNE 2015 JB Hi-Fi www.jbhifi.com.au

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