Birdman (2014)
Beyond the Lights (2014)
Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Directed by Gina Prince Blythewood
The only things that the movies "Birdman" and "Beyond the Lights" have in common are that they are both movies and they both were released to a wide audience on the same weekend. Beyond that, the cast of "Birdman" is an entirely homogeneous group of white people and the cast of "Beyond the Lights," aside from Minnie Driver, are black. Both however, do share a common bond: Show business.
"Birdman" tells the story of Riggan Thompson, a Hollywood action hero, star of the comic book franchise "Birdman," who longs to be taken seriously as the kind of actor starring on Broadway. Riggan has decided to mount his own production of a play by Raymond Carver, a playwright who meant a great deal to Thompson when he was an aspiring actor in college. Unfortunately, the adaptation, by Riggan himself, is troubled. His co-star is a dope, and Riggan himself is coming apart at the seams.
When the dope Riggan can't stand gets injured, he replaces him with a Broadway veteran named Mike Shiner (Edward Norton), who immediately begins to improve the play … until he doesn't. Mike's “process” soon causes new headaches for the already-on-edge Riggan. Riggan has begun to hear the voice of his former comic book character “Birdman” as a running commentary about his various failures and shortcomings as an actor and a human being, all points underlined by Riggan's daughter, Sam (Emma Stone), his new assistant. Sam is a walking, talking, breathing symbol of Riggan's many failures as a father, husband and human being.
In "Beyond the Lights" Gugu Mbatha-Raw stars as Noni, a Rihanna-like rising pop star who, as we meet her, has just won a Billboard award and is in the midst of a mild breakdown. Never having been much of a drinker, Noni hits the bottle hard, ditches her hangers-on and heads to her hotel in an attempt to end it all. Noni's mother/manager Macy Jean (Minnie Driver) arrives in time to see Noni perched precariously on her hotel balcony. She calls on a cop, Kaz (Nate Parker), working security for Noni on this night, and he manages to save her life.
From there, "Beyond the Lights" becomes a rather conventional romance, nothing remotely to compare with the high-wire act that is "Birdman." But the scenes of Noni's arrival backstage at the Billboard Awards, being poked and prodded, fussed and positioned are shot in such a way that they are completely disorienting, much like the entirety of "Birdman." One moment in particular stands out as an example of the warped nature of fame: As Noni is called upon to sign autographs, numerous fans shout “I love you!” and one particularly intense male fan seems to really want Noni to know how much he cares for her.
The scene isn't played as if the fan is a stalker or even a real danger, but it lingers long enough to settle on a question I've always had about fans: What exactly is their end game? Watch "A Hard Day's Night" and recall the fans that chase The Beatles down the streets of London and ask yourself what happens if they catch them? What then? What is it that these fans intend to do with their favorite stars? Sex? Love? Now imagine you're Noni. What is expected of you here? To complete the life of some stranger? To exist as some purely sexual fantasy?
It's really no wonder that Noni ends up on that balcony or that she comes to view Kaz as a savior; projecting onto him some of the same warped fantasy that has been projected upon her. That he happens to be real, stable and capable of understanding what Noni is attempting to communicate to him through her warped side of everyday life is part fantasy and part romance. But it works in the film because Mbatha-Raw and Parker make it work.
The warping in 'Birdman' is similarly tragic. While New York City gives Riggan Thompson slightly more anonymity than Los Angeles and Hollywood give to Noni, he still finds bizarre, surreal moments of fan interaction. For example, he is locked out of his theater in his tighty whities and marches, arms akimbo, around to the front of the theater trailed by fans. He narrowly navigates what may be a typical Broadway scene filled with characters and fans with cell phones who will capture every moment of his public humiliation.
Noni's humiliation in "Beyond the Lights" is also public. When a performance at the BET Awards turns into a real-life fight with a former boyfriend, Kaz rushes the stage to protect her with predictable results in the social media world. For both Riggan and Noni their viral moment is warping and weirdly positive. Riggan is feted for his commitment to finishing his scene at the cost of his dignity and Noni is able to get her record company behind her first album because she is now the name on everyone's lips, regardless of whether her music is any good.
Part of the wonder of both "Birdman" and "Beyond the Lights" is whether indeed the art in question is good or bad. We only get glimpses of each. In "Birdman" we see one intense scene between Riggan and Mike, and it contains fireworks. Norton and Keaton spark brilliantly off of each other, bouncing from script to direction to editing the script to reworking the scene in an extraordinarily tight close up that ratchets up the tension and excitement of this moment of creation. It's a remarkable scene that made me wish one of the Blu-Ray extras would be the play itself performed in full.
In "Beyond the Lights" the moment is less pronounced. Noni performs an a capella version of Nina Simone's "Black Bird" at a karaoke bar on a quiet Caribbean vacation with Kaz. To this point we know she's talented but we don't quite know how much of her talent is the smoke and mirrors or the work of her svengali-like mother. When Mbatha-Raw lets loose and the tears flow the words of the song reflect her feelings. We are immediately informed of Noni's true talent; it only underlines what a farce her life has become.
There is something to be said of Macy in "Beyond the Lights" and of Zach Galifianakis's Jake in "Birdman." Both seem to care about the people whose lives they coddle and create. Macy has been stage managing Noni's life for years; imagine being born to Simon Cowell crossed with the ambition of an army general staging a battle plan. Jake is more shifty and reactive. He knows Riggan is his meal ticket but he seems to care a little about Riggan the person. Jake, at the very least, is supportive of Riggan's attempt to put on the play; Macy won't even listen to the songs Noni has written for herself.
But then, Riggan and Noni are at very different points of their famous lives. The celebrity bubble has encompassed Riggan for more than 30 years. Jake is a step on the evolutionary ladder of fame. The first step is a svengali like Macy. She's typically followed by a well-meaning friend or simpering family member who is entirely overwhelmed but not unhelpful. And finally, for the truly successful there is a toady stage where Jake appears to support every idiot whim of his charge even as he hopes to push for something with a bigger financial payoff.
Noni can still avoid the fate of Riggan Thompson, trapped in his cocoon of fame and raging against the dying of his fame's light. Noni has Kaz to keep her grounded and loved, but there is trouble there too, in a strange way. Noni's "Black Bird" only came from a place of heartache just as Riggan's "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love" comes from a place of desperation. Should Noni choose to remain grounded with Kaz, can her contentment remain artistically relevant?
And that is a pretty good reflection of the warped nature of fame. We wish our stars well but when they get happy and begin to produce work that reflects a life of contentment we likely aren't all that interested. Where is the pain, where are the tears, where is the sweat? We've loved these people as they described their struggle to us through their art but now they are happy and content and we're still where we always were. Noni could walk off the stage at the end of "Beyond the Lights" and never be heard from again and still be happy.
Riggan Thompson doesn't have that choice and thus we arrive at the end of "Birdman" and the voice that's been driving Riggan, the voice of 'Birdman' that has pushed him to nearly take his own life on stage, which has now driven him out a window to attempt to fly. For Riggan, contentment could only come in death. There was no Kaz there to see him and remind him that the real world existed in some form beyond the warped world of fame. No, death was the only way for Riggan to find peace and as I ponder the ending of "Birdman" I can't help but feel that the contentment of death was the only true way for the film to end.
Ah, but is that how "Birdman" ended? With Riggan's death? I think so. The film has followed a course of fantasy throughout with Riggan's odd visions of Birdman and his running DVD commentary on Riggan's life. We have flown over the streets of New York City in a flight of fancy and watched Riggan make bombs explode and armies erupt from nowhere but these were merely his deluded visions.
The end of "Birdman" offers another brief bit of fantasy as Sam looks out the window and seems to see her father flying as we'd seen him in fantasy before. My preference however, is to believe that Sam saw her father's truth; that with all that had driven him mad for so long, only death was left for him, for his chance to finally rest and reconcile. There was no more blood to leave on stage, he'd vanquished his theater enemies, Mike and a theater critic played by Lindsay Duncan. And yet, he'd forever be "Birdman," a star who forever would be remembered for his success.
Riggan was fully warped by his fame. There was no Kaz for him and thus no turning back. His triumph was all that was left and he took that when he took the bullet to the nose on stage and left the audience wanting more blood. In Riggan's warped worldview there was nothing left. The cycle of fame had finally come to end with him having achieved all that he ever wanted: one beautiful moment of being taken seriously.
Riggan's death and Noni's life reflect us in the audience and what we've come to demand of our stars. Blood, sweat and tears. While we are blameless in how Riggan Thompson chooses to live his life it was the cycle that we abetted that led to his madness. Noni would be Riggan if she weren't so young and with such possibilities left in her life. It takes a police officer, a symbol of stability and safety to rescue Noni from fame and while it's hard to believe that Noni walked away from it all at the end, I'd like to believe that music became secondary to life after the lights faded and Noni found contentment if not success.
I wrote this article before I saw the movie "Whiplash" in which an abusive svengali, far more monstrous than Macy, drove Miles Teller's Andrew to a moment of sheer, unconscious, rapturous success. That movie made me glad that Andrew eschewed contentment in favor or greatness in the same way that Riggan Thompson was willing to give up life for one great performance.
Would Macy's machinations be worth more if Noni were a truly transcendent talent? That's not the movie that "Beyond the Lights" intends to be and I can't judge it as such. I can say that Noni isn't so talented that I'm sad she might choose contentment over fame; I would be disappointed if Andrew or Riggan made the same choice. I guess that's how fame has warped me.
The only things that the movies "Birdman" and "Beyond the Lights" have in common are that they are both movies and they both were released to a wide audience on the same weekend. Beyond that, the cast of "Birdman" is an entirely homogeneous group of white people and the cast of "Beyond the Lights," aside from Minnie Driver, are black. Both however, do share a common bond in show business.
"Birdman" tells the story of Riggan Thompson, a Hollywood action hero, star of the comic book franchise "Birdman," who longs for the being taken seriously that comes in starring on Broadway. Riggan has decided to mount his own production of a play by Raymond Carver, a playwright who meant a great deal to Thompson when he was an aspiring actor in college. Unfortunately, the adaptation by Riggan himself is troubled. His co-lead actor is a dope and Riggan himself is coming apart at the seams.
When the dope Riggan can't stand gets injured he replaces him with a Broadway veteran named Mike Shiner (Edward Norton) who immediately begins to improve the play until he doesn't. Mike's 'process' soon causes new headaches for the already on edge Riggan who's begun to hear the voice of his former comic book character 'Birdman' as a running commentary about his various failures and shortcomings an actor and a human being; points underlined by the inclusion of Riggan's daughter Sam (Emma Stone) as his new assistant. Sam is a walking, talking, breathing symbol of Riggan's many failures as a father, husband and human being.
In "Beyond the Lights" Gugu Mbatha-Raw stars as Noni, a Rihanna like rising pop star who, as we meet her, has just won a Billboard award and is in the midst of a mild breakdown. Never having been much of a drinker, Noni hits the bottle hard, ditches her hangers on and heads to her hotel in an attempt to end it all. Noni's mother/manager Macy Jean (Minnie Driver) arrives only in time to see Noni perched precariously on her hotel balcony and calls on a cop, Kaz (Nate Parker), working security for Noni on this night, and he manages to just save her life.
From there, "Beyond the Lights" becomes a rather conventional romance, nothing remotely to compare with the mindfuck that is "Birdman." But, the scenes of Noni's arrival backstage at the Billboard Awards, walking through the backstage, being poked and prodded, fussed and positioned are shot in such a way that they are completely disorienting, much like the entirety of "Birdman." One moment in particular stands out as an example of the warped nature of fame as Noni is called upon to sign autographs, numerous fans shout I love you and one particularly intense male fan seems to really want Noni to know how much he cares for her.
The scene isn't played as if the fan is a stalker or even a real danger but it lingers long enough to settle on a question I've always had about fans: What exactly is your endgame? Watch "A Hard Day's Night" and recall the fans that chase The Beatles down the streets of London and ask yourself what happens if they catch them? What then? What is it that these fans intend with their favorite stars? Sex? Love? Fame? Now imagine you're Noni, what is expected of you here? To complete the life of some stranger? To exist as some purely sexual fantasy?
It's really no wonder that Noni ends up on that balcony or that she comes to view Kaz as a savior; projecting onto him some of the same warped fantasy that has been projected upon her. That he happens to be real and stable and capable of understanding what Noni is attempting to communicate to him through her warped side of everyday life is part fantasy and part romance but it works in the film because Mbatha-Raw and Parker make it work.
The warping in 'Birdman' is similarly tragic. While New York City gives Riggan Thompson slightly more anonymity than Los Angeles and Hollywood gives to Noni, he still finds bizarre, surreal moments of fan interaction such as when he is locked out of his theater in his tighty whities and marches arms akimbo around to the front of the theater trailed by fans and narrowly navigating what may be a typically Broadway scene filled with characters and of course fans with cellphones who will capture every moment of his humiliation.
Noni's humiliation in "Beyond the Lights" is also public. When a performance at the BET Awards turns into a real life fight with a former boyfriend, Kaz rushes the stage to protect her with predictable results in the social media world. For both Riggan and Noni their viral moment is warping and weirdly positive. Riggan is feted for his commitment to finishing his scene at the cost of his dignity and Noni is able to get her record company behind her first album because she is now the name on everyone's lips, regardless of whether her music is any good.
Part of the wonder of both "Birdman" and "Beyond the Lights" is whether indeed the art in question is good or bad. We only really get glimpses of each. In "Birdman" we see one truly intense scene between Riggan and Mike and it contains fireworks. Norton and Keaton spark brilliantly off of each bouncing from script to direction to editing the script to reworking the scene in an extraordinarily tight close up that ratchets up the tension and excitement of this moment of creation. It's a remarkable scene that made me wish one of the Blu-Ray extras would be the play itself performed in full.
In "Beyond the Lights" the moment is less pronounced. Noni performs an A Capella version of Nina Simone's "Black Bird" at a karaoke bar on a quiet Caribbean vacation with Kaz. To this point we know she's talented but we don't quite know how much of her talent is the smoke and mirrors work of her svengali mother Macy. When Mbatha-Raw lets loose and the tears flow and the words of the song illustrate her feelings we are immediately informed of Noni's true talent and it only underlines what a shame her life has been so far.
There is something to be said of Macy in "Beyond the Lights'' and of Zach Galifianakis's Jake in "Birdman." Both seem to care about the people whose lives they coddle and create. Macy has been stage managing Noni's life for years; imagine being born to Simon Cowell crossed with the ambition of an Army General staging a battle plan. Jake is more shifty and reactive. He knows Riggan is his meal ticket but he seems to care a little about Riggan the person. Jake, at the very least, is supportive of Riggan's attempt to put on the play; Macy won't even listen to the songs Noni has written for herself.
But then, Riggan and Noni are at very different times of their fame. For Riggan, the celebrity bubble has encompassed him for over 30 years. Jake is a step on the evolutionary ladder of fame that begins with an early svengali, like a Macy, and graduates to a caring friend or simpering family member for it reaches a toady stage where Jake appears to support every idiot whim of his charge even as he hopes to push for something with a bigger financial payoff.
Noni can still avoid the fate of Riggan Thompson, trapped in his cocoon of fame and raging against the dying of his fame's light. Noni has Kaz to keep her grounded and loved but there is trouble there too, in a strange way. You see, great art does not come from contentment. Noni's "Black Bird" only came from a place of heartache just as Riggan's "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love" comes from a place of desperation. Being happy and content is seemingly what we all want but it is generally the death knell of artistry.
And that is a pretty good reflection of the warped nature of fame. We wish well upon our stars but when they get happy and begin to produce work that reflects a life of contentment we likely aren't all that interested. Where is the pain, where are the tears, where is the sweat. We've loved these people as they described their struggle to us through their art but now they are happy and content and we're still where we always were. Noni might be better off walking off stage in England at the end of "Beyond the Lights" and never getting back on stage. Take your contentment Noni and just go home.
Riggan Thompson doesn't have that choice and thus we arrive at the end of "Birdman" and the voice that's been driving Riggan, the voice of 'Birdman' that has pushed him to nearly take his own life on stage has now driven him out a window to attempt to fly. For Riggan, contentment could only come in death. There was no Kaz there to see him and remind him that the real world existed in some form beyond the warped world of fame. No, death was the only way for Riggan to find peace and as I ponder the ending of "Birdman" I can't help but feel that the contentment of death was the only true way for the film to end.
