NYFF 52 REVIEW: BIRDMAN

REVIEWED BY MATEO MORENO

When you see the word, “A film by Alejandro González Iñárritu,” you know you’re always in for a unique experience. Through films like Amores Perros, Babel, 21 Grams, & Biutiful, Alejandro has taken us on incredible journeys each in their own unique and powerful ways. Apologies to fans of Amores Perros (which includes myself) but I believe his masterpiece has now come. Exhilarating, pulse pounding, hilarious, and uniquely original, BIRDMAN OR THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE is most likely going to top my list of best films of the year. I highly doubt I’ll be the only one.

Michael Keaton stars as Riggan Thompson, a somewhat has been actor who walked away from an incredibly lucrative superhero franchise called “Birdman.” He now wants to be taken as a series actor and has written a theatrical adaptation of Raymond Carver’s short story What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, casting himself in it and directing it as well. He has a Broadway stage to do it in. He has his good friend Jake (Zach Galifianakis), producing it with him and his girlfriend Laura (Andrea Riseborough) is starring in it alongside him. Almost immediately, things start going from bad to worse. His costar is immediately hit by a falling light and has to be replaced immediately. His other costar Lesley (Naomi Watts) suggests her boyfriend Mike Shiner (Edward Norton), a famous Method Actor. He comes aboard and to say he immediately rocks it might be an understatement. To make matters even more stressful, his daughter, an recovering drug addict (Emma Stone) is a production assistant and isn’t too keen on making great father/daughter time. Now this may seem like a lot, but he’s also haunted with the voice of “Birdman” and seems to be able to move things with his mind. Is it all in his mind? Is it real? What is real exactly in this highly meta, breaking the fourth wall film? That’s one of many questions (some answered, some not) that Birdman brings to this beautifully creative table.

Director Alejandro González Iñárritu and Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki have crafted a genuine unique, wholly original film that is set up to seem like the film is all one long 2 hour shot. As the camera follows Riggan and his crew of misfits, we pan through the St. James Theatre, below the theatre, to the rooftop, the street outside, all in one long continuous take. Of course there are cuts, but not many of them, and often takes are 10 minutes long as the camera swirls around them. The direction is crisp and precise, and the camera work is pure genius. Bring the man who left behind a superhero to stretch is acting muscles is a man who…well, left behind a superhero to stretch his acting muscles (in his case, Tim Burton’s Batman). Michael Keaton mesmerizes through the film, transfixing you through each take. He’s wounded and battered, pathetic and driven, lost but searching. It’s a glorious performance that is certainly putting him back on the map. Spewing with real human emotion, Keaton is a revelation. Edward Norton also goes meta playing a brilliant method actor when he himself has been called a brilliant sometimes method actor. He’s charming and conniving, all within the same breath. It’s like being shot with adrenaline each time he enters the screen. Emma Stone also impresses with her wounded and guarded turn as Riggan’s daughter. Also showcasing amazing moments is Andrew Risenborough, who shows the cracks in her armor each time Riggan hurts her slowly but powerfully. Naomi Watts and Zach Galifianakis’s performances soar as well. And the nontraditional soundtrack of drumming by Antonio Sanchez is a welcome weave of originality.

You don’t need to be an actor or an “insider” to appreciate everything that Birdman has to offer. It is truly a remarkable film, unlike anything you’ll experience this year and probably next. A mark of men at the top of their game, it is Alejandro González Iñárritu and Emmanuel Lubezki golden goose. It is Keaton’s ticket back in. It’s the love letter from everyone involved screaming and reaching for originality and giving it to us. Close your eyes, sit back, and let Birdman soar over you.

VERDICT: A MUST SEE

Written by Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinerlaris, Armando Bo.

 Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu Cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki Starring Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Emma Stone, Zach Galifianakis. CONTENT ADVISORY: Adult Language, Adult Situations

FINAL THOUGHTS: A breathtaking original film that succeeds on each and every level. Hallelujah, here Birdman comes.

MATEO MORENO is an actor, playwright, and director in New York City. He owns and runs TheArtsWireWeekly.com and has had four of his plays produced, including BOHEMIAN VALENTINE, HAPPILY AFTER TONIGHT, WITHIN OUR WALLS, & LOVES ME LIKE A ROCK.

NYFF52 REVIEW: GONE GIRL

BY MATEO MORENO

For anyone and everyone who is worried that the new film adaptation of GONE GIRL won't live up to your memories of the novel let me reassure you: Director David Fincher has crafted one hell of a film here. Sleek and mysterious, pulsating and riveting, it's truly a mark of filmmaking wonder. Luck for us, the film adaptation is done by the novel's writer herself, Gillian Flynn, and she captures the wonder that sat on those pages with sharp and clear strokes. To those who haven't yet read the thrilling page turner, the story follows Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) and his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) as they move from Manhattan to Nick's childhood home of Missouri. One evening, Nick returns home to an open door, shattered glass, and Amy is nowhere to be seen. Amy has suddenly disappeared. The police, led by Detective Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) and Officer Jim Gilpin (Patrick Fugit), begin searching for answers and Nick turns to his sister Margo (Carrie Coon) for support. But what exactly, if anything, is Nick hiding? What will the police find? What did happen to Amy? Well if you've read the novel, you may think you know, but Flynn has shaken up the third act here, so even you are in for a treat.

Fincher creates a world and atmosphere here that is intoxicating; thrilling, bleak, and simmering with mysteries at every turn, with a swelling media circus encompassing everyone. Switching between each day Amy is missing and pages of her diary recounting their life together, GONE GIRL captures you from minute one. Affleck is perfect; quiet and powerful here as a smug man who has trouble convincing the public of his compassion. Pike's performance brims with wonder as we piece together who Amy really was. Carrie Coon turns in fantastic work here as Nick's twin sister Margo. And the large supporting cast, from Kim Dickens to Patrick Fugit, Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry (yes, THAT Tyler Perry) all shine from each moment to the next. Kudos as well to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for their haunting score. Even as you learn this town's dirty little secrets, Fincher and Lynne keep you guessing and keep their narrative hand gripping your throat. GONE GIRL does not disappoint, it transcends.

VERDICT: A MUST SEE

Based on the novel by Gillian Flynn Screenplay by Gillian Flynn Directed by David Fincher Starring Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Carrie Coon, Kim Dickens, Patrick Fugit, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry. CONTENT ADVISORY: Adult Situations, Adult Language, Graphic Violence, Nudity

BOTTOM LINE: Fans of the novel will be pleased and those who haven't read it will go pick it up. Another excellent offering from the master that is David Fincher.

NYFF52 REVIEW: WHIPLASH

BY MATEO MORENO

Meet Andrew Neyman. He's 19 years old. A truly gifted drummer, he's currently attending one of the top music convervatories on the East Coast. He has a supportive father and is striving to be "one of the greats." One of the sure ways to help get him there is to get noticed by the drill instructor of a teacher Terrence Fletcher. He has the ability to launch musicians into stardom, or squash them like a bug. So comes Andrew, the soft spoken boy with big dreams, ready to pounce them. Unbeknownst to him, those dreams are about to pounce him. This is WHIPLASH.

Writer/Director Damien Chazelle had originally shot a few of the scenes from his feature screenplay and made it into a short. It won top honors at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and he then was able to shoot the entire thing. And thank the Sundance Gods for that. Miles Teller (The Spectacular Now, Divergent) plays Andrew Neyman with a simmering intensity that is sure to schedule his breakout moment this year. Side by side with an exploding energy is J.K. Simmons as the fire breathing conductor Terrence Fletcher that Neyman is so eager to please. Neyman wants to be one of the greats and Fletcher sees the talent and possible drive that lays in him. So he plucks him into his studio jazz band and thus begins a twisted set of intense mind games alternating with support for the boy, pushing him down much more than he's pulling him up, verbally abusive, and at one point even physically abusive. Why doesn't anyone say anything? Stand up to him? Because he's considered a legend, a true starmaker, and everyone wants their moment to shine. So when Fletcher hurls a chair at Andrew's head? He ducks and plays harder, until his fingers literally bleed. Bringing some light into his life is the young girl of his affection, Glee's Melissa Benoist. She works at the local theatre where Andrew and his father (a quietly moving Paul Reiser) frequent and may be his one token of happiness in the most intense year of his life. But everything must crash down before you can build it back up. That is, if you can build it back up.

Never have I seen a film set in the world of music with this much intensity. Chazelle brilliantly plays it more like a psychological thriller set in the intense world of climbing the music ladder. Teller is bristling with emotion and his performance drives this powerful piece from start to finish. J.K. Simmons is nothing short of a revelation. His performance is intense, grueling, and everyone can agree award worthy. As he throws derogatory and homophobic comments at his students he also drives them. But where's the line? Does the line matter as long as you make it past it? "There are no two words more harmful than 'good job,'" states the masochistic coach, furthering his own opinion that there is no good, only great. Luckily for us, this gifted writer/director has graced us not with a "good, but a great, great film." Buckle in, and prepare to be Whiplashed.

VERDICT: A MUST SEE

Written and Directed by Damien Chazelle  Starring Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Melissa Benoist, Paul Reiser, Austin Stowell. CONTENT ADVISORY: Adult Language, Mild Violence

BOTTOM LINE: Not to beat around the bush, WHIPLASH is fucking great.