Brilliantly scored (by Antonio Sanchez) to an insistent, percussive drumbeat (that itself gets a witty, Godardian reveal deep into the film) and peppered with acerbic asides and belly laughs, the greatest wonder of the film is that for all its wry, surreal meta-textuality, it should gradually build to something so thought-provoking and genuinely human. Almost inevitably, at one point a side character quotes Macbeth’s line about life being "but a tale told by an idiot," but as full as “Birdman” is of sound and fury (and joy and jokes), it signifies a great deal, largely about the painful, thrilling and dangerous prospect of rebirth. Which is appropriate, because with "Birdman," I??rritu, Keaton, and our own faith in the limitless possibilities of cinema, are reborn. [A]