But about how messed up he is. But in no way would I expect Riggan to actually have superpowers - I strongly believe that his powers were metaphorical. Birdman Ending Scene: Film Analysis. The whole movie occurred on the beach. This is what you wanted wasnt it?Riggan, this is what you wanted?Riggan: [Sad as can be] Yeah. That the Birdman figment and voice are fun, cinematic ways of showing his inner struggle with being defined as Birdman and wanting to move beyond that identity. Ruptured spleen along with everything else. There might be people lighting candles in the street praying for him, the top NY critic would praise him, his daughter would be close to him and proud of him while watching him take flight. Whether Riggan died on stage, on the pavement below the hospital, or flew off to act/write/direct another day, every ending comes back to a single thematic point: Riggansucceeds in earning the admirationof his fans and detractors as well as the love of his family. [That] is good enough for me," Dinelaris said. [They clasp hands. Then Jake appears. In the last stage of the play he actually kills himself with the gun (instead of merely wounding himself). What he is actually telling her that he is really going to go through with it this time. And so each dash represents a thousand years. Why did Andrew Martin gives 3 excellent interpretations of the ending in his response to a question about the telekinesis in the movie. She isnt trying to be the next big star. In every one of those scenes where you see him rail against being killed by degrees, you see something happen. 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. 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.". Alright? Theres love in the way Sam brings lilacs to the hospital because she now cares about the fact her father likes flowers. Both sides of Riggan simply feed into his desire for acceptance, one commercial and one critical, and as such are both just symptoms of his self obsession. Watch it closely. The simple answer is: mental illness. In other words, those are all hallucinations, including the end of the film - he's really dead (or at least on his deathbed). You mock Twitter. And I think that brings us back to the original Johnny Depp ending. He tries to make it through the moment, saying some okay things, but you can tell hes not excited (much less happy) about this. That is why we see the jellyfish at the beginning and the end of movie. Share. Hallucinating. (SPOILER) Question about that fight scene : r/tenet - Reddit It only takes a minute to sign up. But Riggan isnt happy. And the screenplay seems, in part, an interesting view of actorly (mis)conduct denier the rehearsals of a production. Drunk kid, teenager, plowed his dads pickup into this camper with this old couple in it. If we don't buy the magical realism (or read it as the subjective psychological state of the lead character) then we have to accept a downbeat end. Let's explore. Its a surreal moment, but I think it captures the fact that the stage may be sacred to many but it isnt safe. They were up in their mid-seventies, that couple. Assume SPOILERS in the comments below. Feel free to share it in the comments below! We'll get to that a bit further on. Now I feel very good about the ending. The third takes place in the hospital, after opening night and Riggan shooting off his nose. Irritu was reluctant to share the specifics of that ending ("I will never tell you. He was going to show Tabitha how far he was willing to go for his art, and prove to her that he was capable of more than just "cartoons and pornography." EDIT: In the second interaction, theyre neutral, both a little exhausted by the distance thats existed between them, both trying harder to be patient with the other and to see and hear one another. I am no expert on him but basically he wrote about the limitations of language in critiquing literature and the limitations of labels. Riggan's greatest victory isn't that he proves a critic wrong or succeeds in his creative endeavors, it's that through his work on the play, he rebuilt his relationship with Sam - and helped her see him the way that he, earlier in the film, neededthe world to see him: something special, somebodythat still matters. Ego Birdman represents Riggans ego. Id get up to his mouth hole, you know, and hed say no, it wasnt the accident exactly but it was because he couldnt see her through his eye-holes. As such, the ending of the film has him stepping outside of his hospital room after achieving critical acclaim based on his performance, financial success based on good reviews, and the love and support of his family who were previously unavailable to him. ]S: DadR: What? Please edit your post to include the relevant links appended to the text as hyperlinks. This man let his whole life pass him by in the pursuit of fame and wealth. Instead of seeing the reality of his body on the ground, she looks up and smiles, as if she can see Riggan soaring. So, yeah, the easy answer to Riggan ending his life is hes mentally ill. But that mental illness derives from a career in Hollywood and its pressures and sufferings and warping of your worldview. The man was unwell. The ending I believe is symbolic of the acceptance of both parts of himself by his daughter, who could very well symbolize anyone close to him. He is like everyone else. This is why he flew at the end (to heaven we can assume). Hes reminded theres a world that goes beyond his work and career and being an actor. Which would be worse? But first,Irritu's original draft of the Birdman script had a slightly more definitive ending - one that could offer hints at which theory is closest to the truth.