Birdman takes off with A-lister mojo

BIRDMAN, director Alejandro G Inarritu's astonishing film about a washed-up Hollywood star searching for relevance and redemption on the Broadway stage, opens with a drum riff, an inscription from short story writer Raymond Carver's tombstone, and a comet streaking through the night sky. Then it gets down to business.

The sight of Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) clad only in his underwear while levitating in the lotus position above his dressing-room floor will cause viewers to be intrigued and possibly a little perturbed.

Inarritu then reels us in over the next two hours with a movie that delivers on every conceivable front, keeping us mightily entertained as he weaves, with masterly confidence and great technical skill, a satirical tale about a man on the very edge.