Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) Free
- Genres: Comedy, Drama
- Rating IMDb: 77
- Year: 2014
- Duration: 1:59
Summaries
A washed-up superhero actor attempts to revive his fading career by writing, directing, and starring in a Broadway production.
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.
Riggan is a man struggling to make his mark in the world. Having achieved fame as "Birdman", he voluntarily walked away from the on screen role, and battled the inner voices that had him believe he was more powerful than anyone could imagine. Old, irrelevant, but still driven, Riggan has chosen to pursue his dream of honoring the man who inspired him over 20 years ago. Riggan and those around him are all facing similar battles, but seem to be unaware of any but their own. Determined to make his play a success, he overcomes obstacle after obstacle in order to ensure it is a success on the stage. Surrounded by his daughter and the actors he's chosen, Riggan works to come to terms with the realities of life. Moments of brutal honesty affect him and those around him. Nearly everyone finds themselves in both positions, of giving and receiving the words they need to hear in that moment. Riggan attempts to let himself truly feel what he needs to so he can find inner peace and freedom. Opening night finds him offering the performance of his life for more reasons than one, and the success of that night will make or break the future of his play. Like everything else, his handling of events is affected by demons only he is aware of.
Riggan Thomson is an actor who played the famous and iconic superhero "Birdman" over 20 years ago. Now, in his middle-age, he is directing his debut on Broadway, a drama called "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love", an adaptation from a Raymond Carver story. With the help of his assistant and daughter Sam, and his producer Jake, he will play out the show previews, even when a talented actor he hired on, Mike Shiner act arbitrarily, the internal issues between him and the other casts, his useless maximum efforts to critics, and the unexpected voices of his old character- the Birdman, pushing his sanity until the first debut show.
Former cinema superhero Riggan Thomson is mounting an ambitious Broadway production that he hopes will breathe new life into his stagnant career. It's risky, but he hopes that his creative gamble will prove that he's a real artist and not just a washed-up movie star. As opening night approaches, a cast mate is injured, forcing Riggan to hire an actor who is guaranteed to shake things up. Meanwhile, Riggan must deal with his girlfriend, daughter and ex-wife.
A washed up actor tries to reclaim his fame on Broadway with a new play. As this is happening he has to handle with new actors and has to re kindle his relationship with his daughter. But most importantly he has to escape the shadow of the superhero he used to play, Birdman.
