Riggans play has transcended art and become an event. The ending of Birdman explained (spoilers) : r/movies - Reddit This is my chance to finally do some work that actually means something.S: That means something to who? Birdman ]S: DadR: What? Riggan was always a lousy guy, but shortly before he walked out onto stage for opening night, he seemed to have come to peace with who he was. For that reason, any of the theories presented above could be true (as well as others that have not been mentioned). Note this "suicide" is done in private, without any witnesses. He wants to be good in real-life and break free of Birdman, but he needs to be Birdman to feel good in real-life. The events of the movie occurred in in an instant as Riggin laid dying on the beach from his suicide attempt, which ultimately was successful. I said Riggan was the one who added all of that about Ed, but in reality its Irritu. There is an entire world out there where people fight to be relevant every single day. Here's what screenwriters of the movie says about the ending. Dinelaris said "a few different approaches" were considered, including So whatever we say about the final scene is not the final scene, which just is what it is. You hate bloggers. This movie doesn't just want to make you feel something, it wants to say something about humanity and stardom and the inner lives of celebrities and the "cultural genocide" that superhero films have wrought upon us. One could argue that Riggin dies many deaths in the movie. Look back at Sams big monologue about relevancy. You can give into the system and become a part of it and lose yourself. The Birdman Ending Explained - MasterCritic.com His one other wish is to be done with Birdman yet retain the fame and money the movies gave him. finishes tha For most of her life, he existed less as a person and more as a figment or broken promise in the shape of a person. And you know what, youre right, you dont. Given that its the world her father has given his life to, what Sams doing in her conversations with Mike goes beyond mere superficial flirtation. he was a dedicated performer - so dedicated that he was literally They had these incredible reserves, those two. It shows us that the only thing that can really satisfy the ego is love. Irritu's choice to hold back the hospital scene'scarnage, or lack thereof (his corpse belowor levitating body above), makes it clear that the filmmaker wanted the finale to be partly ambiguous. Why? I could hear the human noise we sat there making, not one of us moving, not even when the room went dark. I had thought the whole point of the film was that even though Riggan's cause was noble, his level of obsession was unhealthy. Maybe not to you, or your cynical friends whose only ambition is to go viral. The same thing happens when hes telekinetically destroying his dressing room. Go figure. Not only did he have one previous suicide attempt, but during the course of the movie he went onto a roof and was ready to jump to his death. What else is new?R: Dont do that thingS: That thing where I make it about me? (E.g. Thats about as on the nose (no pun intended) to Michael Keatons career arc as you can get. They mention this in every interview I've seen. Speaking to the Tampa Bay Times, the director made it clear: there is not one correct way to interpret the ending: "At the ending of the film, (it) can be interpreted as many ways as there are seats in the theater.". Then, according to Dinelaris: "the camera prowled like it did the whole film, went back stage through the halls weve seen the whole time and wed get to the dressing room where literally Johnny Depp would be sitting looking in the mirror and putting on his Riggan Thomson wig and then the poster of Pirates of the Caribbean 5 would be in the back. "I'm still trying to figure it Some lovely, others hideous. Assume SPOILERS in the comments below. I mean, who are you? This is no accident. Theyre more alike than Sam had ever realized. They have to be, because in a way that's Alejandro just trying to express that sense of confusion about what he is in his own life," Dinelaris said. Carver ends the story with Terri and Mel in a fight and all four people lost in thought at the table. After watching Birdman, the scene that was most powerful and significant, for me, was the ending of both the film and Riggans play within the film. The central theme I noticed continually throughout the film was the inability of the actor to separate the stage version of himself from his real-life self. This play is gonna last forever. Riggan: You cant do this to me!Sam: To you?R: Oh, shut up! And about his future. He is happy. This is her expecting to see the worst of her father when she looks at him and instead seeing the best he has to offer now that his obsession with himself and how others perceive him has been calmed by the various successes granted to him by giving his all to his performance, quite literally bleeding for the stage. With several falling into symbols for the acting world and several falling into symbols for the real world. That, to me, is why we have the transition scene between the gunshot and the hospital. Not even the writers know. Well, the husband was very depressed for the longest while. Art defies the words we try to use to describe it. Read about that by clicking the link.Discuss: What did you think of the film's ending? How to check for #1 being either `d` or `h` with latex3? CLICK on any topic to jump directly to it: As mentioned,Irritu leaves Birdman open to audience interpretation and, like most great stories, there are multiple ways of interpreting the ending. Fame isnt a panacea. In this scenario, Riggan dies from a self-inflicted gunshot wound but, before he passes, the actor experiences a happy ending hallucination - a death dreamwhere he has won the adoration of his fans, reconciled with his wife, been recognized as a success by hiscritics, and earned his daughter's respect. And jump. You had a career, dad, before the third comic book movie. Sam: Means something to who? You are doing this because you want to feel relevant again. What he is actually telling her that he is really going to go through with it this time. Youre doing this because youre scared to death, like the rest of us, that you dont matter. But Riggan can see how the success will become just another burden. Of course, this is just one analysis of a complex and very interpretive film. Its gonna open in London. In an epilogue that is enigmatic and affecting, we learn that Riggan survived because he fired the gun incorrectly and only ended up destroying his nose. The essential explanation of BIRDMAN | Ending | Meaning | Point How did they manage to make Birdman look like one single shot? The fact that its not clear what happened at the end is perfect. Riggan still isn't respected or appreciated as an artist, and while he has more Twitter followers, he's not exactly a huge fan of microblogging. It was bad.") Riggan figures out that the only way to be truly free is to not care about fame (be it as an artist or a movie star) or the self. The Bird subjects prisoners to extreme physical and emotional abuse. It only takes a minute to sign up. Riggan, of course, makes his choice, and flies out the window. She then looks up and sees his Birdman character, a superhuman being adored by everyone. I can't take credit for this answer, but I wanted people who find this question to see it. He has a bird nose, he can fly, and hes loved by everyone. 'Birdman' Ending Explained - Screen Rant Throughout the film, we've seen Riggan exercise supernatural powers on his environment. He tried having the bird explode in a bloody pulp, or bounce back across the ground, before settling on a faceplant. The last scene is not intended to be taken literally. Prior to Birdman's big night at the Academy Awards, Irritu was asked about the film's ending, revealing that it wasn't the original ending he had scripted: It had a different ending but in the middle of shooting, I knew it was a piece of shit. But thats what were talking about when we talk about love. He struggles for fame and notoriety and can't escape his acting self hence the constant interaction and struggle with his Birdman alter-ego. [That] is good enough for me," Dinelaris said. Thats all Riggan. R: I have a Twitter page?S: Yeah, I set it up today.R: Let me see.S: No way. Except, he didnt think of it that way. In his delusional way of seeing things, it felt like flying. It represents her trying to understand acting, theater, performance, etc. He really dies, as is evidenced by the jump cuts and scenes from his life, ending with jellyfish on the Given his choice of subject matter (and the character he electsto play in his production), Riggan clearly aspiresto Mel's sanguineview of love - and the power it can carry. Beginning: He was not famous, family is not functional, daughter is in rehabilitation, one of the main character is being played by a mediocre actor in his play. Then he sees a flock of birds, and realizes that he has only one choice left. The film Birdman seems to deal with the inner-working of the psychology of that toxic relationship of becoming a fictional version of who you are to gain real-life acceptance of who you are. Riggan was always a lousy guy, but shortly before he walked out onto stage for opening night, he seemed to have come to peace with who he was. Youre doing a play based on a book that was written 60 years ago, for a thousand rich, old white people whose only real concern is gonna be where they go to have their cake and coffee when its over. The ending seems to represent him finally letting go of his ego by leaving Birdman on the toilet. Youre doing this because youre scared to death, like the rest of us, that you dont matter. keeping with the film's central questions and lined up with the