I've had this 2014 film on my "to watch" list for quite a while. It is full of profanity, yet is a powerful and poignant look at our often futile, selfish, and harmful quest for purpose, validation, and affection. Riggan's daughter has the quote of the movie:
You're doing this because you're scared to death, like the rest of us, that you don't matter. And you know what? You're right. You don't. It's not important, okay? You're not important. Get used to it.
Yet Riggan persists, even as he agonizes. "Why do I have to beg people to love me?" he asks on stage. "I wanted to be what you wanted," he pleads to this ex in the play. Offstage, he (and others) wrestle with feeling invisible. "I don't exist. I'm not even here," says one. The main characters will grasp at anything to be convinced they matter; that they are special. Yet they feel like frauds, and even dreams, when seemingly fulfilled, do not satisfy. They want someone to say "you're good enough," and beyond that, they want to be "above them all." They want truth, love, and meaning . . . but their hopes seem pointless. An ambiguous ending leaves the audience wanting closure and a solution . . . but there is neither.
This is a great film, if incomplete. It rightly wrestles with some fundamental human challenges, and (also rightly) comes up with no earthly solution. If only it had considered or pointed to the heavenly one. It didn't, so I will: check out my religion page for some good news. Only in Christ can we rest in our quest for meaning, for we are indeed loved—but not due to our own actions.
Rating: A-
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