Birdman Spoiler Special: Should Birdman be taken seriously (AUDIO)?

Is Birdman a Virtuoso Masterpiece or Hollow, Pretentious Filmmaking? We Debate.

Is Birdman a Virtuoso Masterpiece or Hollow, Pretentious Filmmaking? We Debate.

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Brow Beat
Slate's Culture Blog
Oct. 25 2014 2:25 PM

Spoiler Special: Birdman

Birdman_Keaton
Michael Keaton makes his comeback in Birdman.

© 2014 - Fox Searchlight

On the Spoiler Special podcast, Slate critics discuss movies—and the occasional TV show—in full, spoiler-filled detail. Below, film critic Dana Stevens talks with senior editor David Haglund and staff writer Forrest Wickman about Birdman, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s surreal black comedy about a washed-up actor (Michael Keaton), once known for playing the eponymous superhero, attempting to revive his career with a stage adaptation of Raymond Carver's “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.” Does the film succeed as a critique of superhero movies? Does Iñárritu’s technical mastery impede or enhance the story? And is the film as smart as it thinks it is?

Listen to them discuss these and other questions below. You can also check out past Spoiler Specials in our archive, and you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Note: As the title indicates, each installment contains spoilers galore.

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Dana Stevens is Slate’s movie critic.

David Haglund is the literary editor of NewYorker.com. 

Forrest Wickman is Slate’s culture editor.