Michael Keaton is brilliant as Riggan Thomson, aka Birdman, an aging film superhero, who, of course, can fly, and who is trying to change the direction of his career by bringing to the stage a short story by Raymond Carver in which he also plays a starring role. Emma Stone is terrific in the role of Riggan's daughter, Sam, who is just out of rehab. Stone is a commanding presence each time she appears on the screen. The scenes with Sam and Michael Shiner (Edward Norton), an actor who is brought into the play in a leading role at the eleventh hour, are especially funny, tender, and poignant. Jake (Zach Galifianakis), Riggan's long-suffering good friend and lawyer, is very fine in his supporting role.
As for the play within a movie, from the scenes that appear the film, the drama is not the least believable, nor is it recognizable as based on a Carver story, but, nevertheless, it serves to advance the dark, chaotic hilarity of the story.
Since I watched the film twice, you've probably guessed that I think it worth viewing, and I very much do. Though I highly recommend the movie, because of the blackness of its satire, Birdman is probably not for everyone.
