Birdman is a bit of a strange film in that I both liked it and disliked it simultaneously. It tells the story of Michael Keaton who plays a washed up actor trying to make it big with his broadway play. His daughter treats him like an asshole, his costar kind of IS an asshole, and his attempt to reinvent himself seems to be failing.

The film tells the story linearly, but in a way where time jumps forward without any specific indication. The camera work is fluid, relying on a constant long-take approach facilitated by steadicam and giving the film a dream-like quality. The acting is quite brilliant, with Galifinakis, Stone, and Norton really standing out in my opinion. The soundtrack is also fantastic, featuring some really groovy jazz tracks and some brilliant classical tracks including Ravel's Pavane (a personal favorite). So why do I dislike the film? Well...

The subject matter is, in my opinion, fairly shallow. There's a lot of emphasis on some deeper spiritual/philosophical meaning that feels patched together rather than properly explored. The long-take steadicam work is well done, but I found it unnecessary and distracting, waiting for cuts instead of paying attention to the film. Everyone in the film is barely relateable, coming across as shallow and self-absorbed. The film strives to be surrealistic, a style I love a lot, but something about the combination of elements made this film feel like it was using surrealism as a crutch to obfuscate the otherwise thin story.

TL;DR - 6/10
I'm probably going to be crucified for my review, but that's fine. This film is simultaneously great and horrible, but that doesn't mean you won't end up really enjoying it. I highly recommend checking it out at least once to get your own opinion, because although I'm not the film's biggest fan, I do consider it a worthwhile film, especially in today's relatively shit cinematic landscape.