In my opinion the conclusions Ronald Rovers comes to in this breakdown of Birdman‘s seamless editing is a little far fetched when it comes to his “closer look”, but nonetheless interesting and it’s fun to see someone willing to look so close and come up with a few outlandish theories. I think Jeff Wells’ headline “Birdman Meets Room 237” is pretty much spot on in this regard. Room 237 was a bunch of hooey when it comes to its theories, but nevertheless a fun exploration of Stanley Kubrick‘s The Shining.
I will say, however, I’m growing weary with everything being compared to Kubrick in some way or another. I don’t know if it’s simply the era in which most film bloggers and critics grew up in or if it’s some sort of unnatural obsession, but as much as I love Kubrick and seeing people explore his work, the comparisons need to end. I say this knowing I have done similar things in the past, and I realize today’s filmmakers tend to pay homage to Kubrick often… the same could be said for Alfred Hitchcock, but I think we’re near time where filmmakers and critics alike need to move on and find new sources of inspiration and perhaps we all need to try and look a little harder at movies if we’re going to pretend to go for the “deep dive” and avoid the easy comparisons and find something even more enlightening.
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“Swerving and halucinating, this megalomanic backstage comedy runs us along all the perverted, hysterical stations of theatre life”, Filmkrant-critic Ronald Rovers wrote about Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Oscar-winner Birdman. The swerving and the halucinating indeed go hand in the film, this investigation of the inner workings of the St. James Theater’s catacombs shows. Walk a mile in the unsteady shoes of a former blockbuster actor.
