Oscars 2015: Birdman, Boyhood pushing the boundaries of Cinema

Alejandro G. Inarritu accepts the award for best director for “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP)

Just when I was wondering that the quality of cinema in 2014 would not surpass that of 2013, I watched films like Birdman and Boyhood, exceeding every expectation and slapping me across my face… with an Oscar. Frankly, I was afraid I would be right when I was thinking ‘How could anything top ‘Her’ by Spike Jonze, ‘Gravity’ by Alfonso Cuaron and ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ by Jean-Marc Vallee’? But that slap, well, I’m glad to be on the receiving end of it.

If I felt Oscars 2014 were a stiff competition between the likes of Alfonso, Jonze, Steve McQueen and Vallee, Oscars 2015 were a bit stiffer. With an expected faceoff between Inarritu’s Birdman and Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, two of the best films of the year, the question was who will be called the ‘best’ of this year. Or would it be another upset like last year when ‘12 Years a Slave’ won the Best Picture? I call McQueen’s win last year an upset because personally, the film, no matter how well-made, was a clichéd story of a slave’s hard-fought battle to freedom, which did not leave a lasting impression on me.

On the other hand, ‘Birdman: or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)’ by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu not only pulls your hair but also kicks you in the groin while shoving a living bird down your throat while it struggles and you choke on it. And how can one forget such an experience? I mean it’s not horror or gory, yet it defies the conventional. So much so that you actually enjoy it. And just when you think you’re done, you turn around and see another bird (man) flying above your head. The film does not let you rest.

The film is about a washed up actor Riggan Thomson (played by Michael Keaton), decades after playing a superhero, trying to relive that fading glint of fame, reinvent his career and prove himself an artist by adapting a story for Broadway, all the while, dealing with multiple relationships in his life. Keaton, Edward Norton, as an actor hired by Riggan for his play, and Emma Stone, as Riggan’s daughter, delivered brilliant performances, showing a deep understanding of what the film and the characters are trying to say.

Nevertheless, you could always argue if it was just technical mastery that made the film enjoyable. Not really! The story is equally well-designed. Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, under Inarritu’s direction, displayed his mastery once again and bagged another Best Cinematography Oscar after winning it last year for ‘Gravity’, making it two years in a row. Now the beauty of Lubezki’s camerawork cannot be denied (hell, it won him an Oscar!) but the story and the quality of screenplay written by Inarritu and his team of three, was what provided the platform for such brilliant cinematography in the first place. The visuals trick you into believing that it’s a one-shot film and that self-imposed limitation caused the writing to be as strict and calculated as the production of the film. The writing (for which, by the way, it won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar as well) dictated the imagery, which in turn, dictated the extremely unique drum score by Antonio Sanchez. The drum score also being used as a measure for rhythm of the film. It’s a perfect symbiosis. A balanced marriage of all filmmaking elements working together, aiding each other and creating an unforgettable experience.

Then comes Boyhood. Defying every restriction of time, Linklater creates this twelve year journey in the life of a family who grow dramatically over the course of the film. Starring Patricia Arquette as Olivia, a mother of two, divorced, the film takes us through her multiple failed abusive marriages while her son, Mason (played by Ellar Coltrane) grows from six to eighteen years of age. Ethan Hawke plays Mason Sr., father to Mason and Samantha. Although separated from his wife Olivia, he still visits his children.

What is interesting about Boyhood is that it was shot in twelve years. It literally takes the audience through the process of children growing up and drastic changes that occur in the family’s life. We see the actors grow up on screen, proving ‘Boyhood’ as the most realistic cinematic depiction of life in years. Coltrane was seven years old at the time when the shooting started in 2002. We see him all those years struggling with his growth, bullies in school, his mother’s abusive relationships and her constant struggle to make the ends meet.

Both, Birdman and Boyhood are simple stories which can be summarized to a one-liner but whereas, Birdman’s complexity and depth lies in its masterful storytelling and clever cinematography, Boyhood brings all the honesty of twelve years of life in near three hour experience. We experience twelve years in three hours, witnessing a wide range of emotions. The performances are genuine and true-to-life, especially Patricia Arquette’s. No surprise she received an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Sadly, that’s the film’s only Oscar win.

With ‘Birdman’ winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography, and Boyhood with Best Supporting Actress, rest of the awards were won by some of the top movies of the year, including the Best Adapted Screenplay for Graham Moore for The Imitation Game, Best Actor for Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of Everything, Best Supporting Actor for J.K. Simmons for Whiplash, and Best Actress for Juliane Moore. Polish film ‘Ida’ by Pawel Pawlikowski earned Best Foreign Language Film while The Grand Budapest Hotel by Wes Anderson won 4 Oscars (tying with Birdman for the most wins), including Best Original Score, Best Production Design, Best Makeup & Hairstyling and Best Costume Design.

Actor J.K. Simmons poses after winning the Best Actor in a Supporting Role award for “Whiplash” during the 87th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, the United States, on Feb. 22, 2015. (Xinhua/Yang Lei)

While the Academy went in favor of Birdman for Best Picture and Best Direction, the question is which of the two was actually the best film of the year? Boyhood or Birdman? Apparently, just like any other film, both movies had positive as well as some negative reviews. Does it matter? No! What matters is not just one film’s victory, but the victory of cinema as a whole. With the quality of cinema in recent years exceeding expectations, more innovative ideas coming forward and the audience gulping it down, I won’t be surprised if, in some years, we get a tie for Best Picture.

Julianne Moore received best actress Oscar at the Oscars ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. (Xinhua/Yang Lei)

Actor Eddie Redmayne poses after winning the Best Actor in a Leading Role award for “The Theory of Everything” during the 87th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, the United States, on Feb. 22, 2015. (Xinhua/Yang Lei)

Note: Article originally published in April 2015 issue of Magazine N.