Amid the flurry of stirring, teary epics and biopics that populate the Oscars 2015 – Best Picture nominees, two films have snuck in to the category at the final furlong to upset what seemed to be an inevitable victory either for ‘Boyhood’ or something starring a British actor.
These two rank outsiders have come in the form of ‘Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)’ and ‘Whiplash.’ Both were released this year, only a month or so before the awards, and either could steal this most coveted Oscar away from the favourites on 22 February.
‘Birdman’ must be one of the most unusual films to have appeared on the list in some time. Alejandro Innaritu’s black comedy focuses on Riggan Thompson (Michael Keaton), a washed-up movie star (pictured above) whose role as the blockbuster superhero ‘Birdman’ brought him fame during the 1990s. In an effort to reinvent himself and his failing career, he attempts to write, direct and perform in a high-brow Broadway play.
Thompson’s quest for critical and artistic recognition is hindered by his popular image as an action hero, in both a personal and public sense. The part that brought him success has not only prevented him from penetrating New York’s snobbish cultural elite, but has also become the internal embodiment of his own self-doubt. His former character appears as a voice inside his head that taunts his lofty aspirations when the pressure gets to him.
Critics have obsessed over the parallels between ‘Birdman’ and Keaton’s own career. Keaton played Batman in Tim Burton’s versions of the Marvel franchise, so it’s hardly a surprise that this has been discussed. But frankly, this is the least interesting thing about the movie.
It’s a success in its own right on a number of levels. The performances are superb – Keaton’s role is career-defining, but Ed Norton is also hilarious as the intense, unpredictable and impotent Broadway stalwart Mike Shiner.
Innaritu’s directing is also bold – his technique of making the film look like one continuous take gives it a frenetic, nervous energy that complements the cracking of the fragile façade Thompson spends most of the movie trying to maintain.
What is most striking about this film, though – despite all its ambition and eccentricity – is just how relatable and universal it is. At its heart, this is essentially the story of quite an ordinary middle-aged man in the throes of a mid-life crisis.
Despite the obscure premise and surreal backdrop, Thompson’s problems are general middle-aged ones. He has a difficult relationship with his daughter, Sam (Emma Stone – also excellent), and is frustrated with the direction is career has taken. Life, in short, has not turned out as he it should have, and he is left with the desperate realisation that his time to achieve is running out.
He takes on his attempt at reinvention with the kind of short-tempered, headstrong vigour that only middle-aged men can muster. This is where a lot of the comedy stems from: Riggan Thompson may be a globally recognised superstar with ludicrously grandiose ambitions, but underneath, he’s just your dad trying to prove he can put up shelves.
It’s no wonder that he cracks under the pressure of such a monumental task. No matter who we are, the film seems to suggest, we are all victims of our own self-doubt, always running from failure, and always living in the shadows of our past.
But the film’s central message is that this is not something to be ashamed of. There has not been a more touching and sympathetic portrayal of that most unsung of heroes – the relatively untalented, balding middle-aged male in a long time. That Inarritu has managed to disguise this in such an original and surreal story is the film’s real achievement.
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By contrast, that sense of relatability is what is lacking from Damien Chazelle’s ‘Whiplash’.
This film tells the story of Andrew Neiman, a drumming prodigy obsessed with becoming the next jazz legend. He attends the prestigious Shaffer Conservatory music school, where he falls under the tutelage of the terrifying Terence Fletcher – a bald, sadistic bully resembling a cross between Michael Stipe and Simon Cowell. However, where ‘Birdman’s’ characters, although dysfunctional, are ultimately sympathetic, the protagonists of ‘Whiplash’ are all profoundly unlikeable.
Fletcher is of course supposed to be intimidating, rationalising his aggressive approach as a motivational tactic to force his students to fulfil their potential. But he is such a cruel, vindictive sociopath, who clearly enjoys the trauma he inflicts on his students, that these justifications always fall short in the context of his behaviour.
Given that he is so frequently on the receiving end of Fletcher’s tirades, it should be easy to empathise with Andrew Neiman – but he is equally unlikeable. A typically awkward, fat-lipped American teenage nerd, he is predictably friendless and socially uncomfortable, finding solace only in drumming and obscure jazz music.
It’s almost impossible to identify with someone as blinkered and irritating as Neiman. At one point, he dumps his girlfriend because she might somehow distract him from his true calling of becoming an underappreciated jazz genius.
At another, after Neiman shuns the achievements of his family members (whose college football accolades are praised more highly than his musical ones) during a dinnertime conversation, he is abruptly put in his place by his uncle, who asks: “You got any friends, Andrew?” To be honest, it’s easy to see why his answer is no.
This would all be very well if we weren’t clearly supposed to be on Neiman’s – and, to a certain extent, Fletcher’s – side. The film demands that we root for Neiman and his quest, that we admire him for the sacrifices he makes to achieve greatness. It also seeks to portray Fletcher as a kind of brutal genius – a Brian Clough or Alex Ferguson figure who may be tough, but who gets results, goddamn it.
The problem is that this just doesn’t really work. ‘Whiplash’ is a kind of redemption story that lacks any characters worth redeeming, making that typically American theme of chasing success at all costs just come across as narrow and vain.
The film seems to want to do for jazz what ‘Rocky’ did for boxing, but it actually does for music schools what ‘Full Metal Jacket’ did for military academies. The world of ‘Whiplash’ is not a place where jazz soldiers are born – it’s just hostile, ruthless and very, very noisy.
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It will be interesting to see how these two films fare in the Oscars. ‘Birdman’ has received nominations in various categories, and its recent success at the Producer’s Guild of America awards suggest that it could be a serious contender for the crown.
‘Whiplash’, however, fared far better at the BAFTAs (not that that means anything). If the panel award the Best Picture Oscar to ‘Birdman’ this year, they will have chosen a highly original and deserving film for the award. ‘Whiplash,’ unfortunately, just doesn’t make the grade.
Connor Pierce
Filed under: Pop Culture
