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Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

2014
R
119 min
Comedy Drama

Plot Summary

Actor Riggan Thomson is most famous for his movie role from over twenty years ago of the comic book superhero Birdman in the blockbuster movie of the same name and its two equally popular sequels. His association with the role took over his life, where Birdman is more renowned than "Riggan Thomson" the actor. Now past middle age, Riggan is trying to establish himself as a true artist by writing, directing, starring in and co-producing with his best friend Jake what is his Broadway debut, an adaptation of Raymond Carver's story, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. He is staking his name, what little artistic reputation that comes with that name and his life savings on the project, and as such will do anything needed to make the play a success. As he and Jake go through the process of the previews toward opening night, Riggan runs into several issues: needing to find a replacement for the integral supporting male role the night before the first preview; hiring the talented Broadway name, Mike Shiner, for that role, Mike who ends up being difficult to work with and who may end up overshadowing Riggan in the play; having to deal potentially with a lawsuit based on one of his actions to ensure success; needing to be there for his daughter, Sam, who he has hired to be his production assistant and who has just come out of drug rehab; and pleasing the New York Times critic, Tabitha Dickinson, who wants to use any excuse to give the play a scathing review which in turn would close the show after the opening night performance. But Riggan's biggest problem may be his own insecurities, which are manifested by him constantly hearing what he believes to be the truth from the voice of his Birdman character, who he often battles both internally and externally.

7.7
IMDb Rating
91%
Rotten Tomatoes
87
Metacritic
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Ratings & Reviews

7.7
IMDb Rating
91%
Rotten Tomatoes
87
Metacritic

Technical Details

119 min
Runtime
14 Nov 2014
Release Date
R
Content Rating
Movie
Content Type
2014
Year
Genres
Comedy Drama

Watch Trailer

User Reviews

Dean

Dean

1.0/10
Recent

First of all, let me say, I like most of movies where Naomi Watts plays & thought this one would be good too, after all it has high ratings, but don't be fooled by famous actors which play in this movie. Don't be fooled & think that movie is good. No, not at all. This movie is complete junk. It supposed to be a comedy, but I didn't even find it funny. It's just like a big mess. I started watching it & I couldn't last longer than 30 minutes, it was so boring & uninteresting that I fell asleep. I ...

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Matthew Brady

Matthew Brady

10.0/10
Recent

"I'm nothing. I'm not even here." The story to Birdman is about an wash up actor (Michael Keaton) - famous for portraying an iconic superhero - as he struggles to mount a Broadway play. In the days leading up to opening night, he battles his ego and attempts to recover his family, his career, and himself. Okay in my review of Whiplash I bought this movie up mid way through the review just to give a heads up of when I'm going to watch it, because Birdman was my most anticipated film of 2014...

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mattwilde123

mattwilde123

9.0/10
Recent

This film tells the story of an over-the-hill actor called Riggan Thomson (brilliantly portrayed by Michael Keaton) who was once the star of a superhero blockbuster franchise known as 'Birdman'. We are shown his journey into making a Broadway production starting with the initial rehearsals and read-throughs. What follows is a brilliant exploration of celebrity culture in an intriguing and satirical way. 'Birdman' could essentially be looked at as one continuous long shot. The camera constantl...

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External Links

IMDb
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TMDb
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Technical Info
14 Nov 2014
OMDb API