Birdman: The unexpected virtue of brilliance

I will start off with something you have heard a thousand times but is only really true now, Birdman is a masterpiece. It will confuse you, sting you, make you angry and confused. But most importantly you'll laugh at the sheer strangeness of what looks like one continuous shot of a group of people trying to keep one man from falling whilst that man is just trying to fly again

SPOILERS AHOY

Starring Keaton as a faded superhero actor trying to bring his favourite book to the stage, he is thwarted by himself and the environment he has put himself in. His daughter's fresh out of re-hab, his other actor is awful then hit with a light. His actress girlfriend may or may not be pregnant and theatre one is in all sorts of trouble and to top it all of his Agent (Zach Galifinakis, incredible btw) is all over the place. Everything just keeps on crumbling beneath him.

A particular thorn in his side is the hideous Mark Shiner (played by Ed Norton, who will probably deservedly win an oscar for this), a method actor who gets far too wedged up his own arse. He sexually assaults Naomi Watt's character, gets in fights and is generally despicable. However during the fight between him and Keaton, you suddenly see glimpses of him pretending to fight his boss in Fight Club, there is obscene vulnerability to him that makes him oddly charming.

In effect this film is hard to review because I honestly cannot be objective. It's perfect in every way, shows every facet of human frailty and still makes you laugh, makes you think and makes you just wanna pause it and regain your bearings. It never gives you the chance.

(NOTE, this also counts as Prompt 4 of movie challenge a film released in 2015)