Birdman: Ending Explained | Video Essay 

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the ending is about Keaton signing a contract to MCU for the role of Vulture.

This movie taught me an important lesson. A movie is what we interpret, not what the filmmakers convey.

I took the ending as Riggan actually dying on stage while the hospital scene, with the critical praise and the approval of his daughter was a dream before death. Everything he wanted was given to him which felt almost out of place for the film leading up to that point.

Birdman is a strong critique of modern day Hollywood, dominated by franchises and superhero films.

I thought this film's sequel, "Lady Bird", was very good too. But it felt thematically and tonally very different from the original. None of the same characters were in it, and there were a lot more cuts.

The ending is also a standalone sequence as it begins with the first _editing cut_ of the entire film. This massive break also changes the tone in more than one way. It shows the hero's ambitions fulfilled perfectly, having gained both his audience's admiration and his daughter's love, which is the last thing we see. Here, we leave the reality of what we have seen before behind. The simplest no-brainer interpretation: everything after the cut is his dying hallucination. Everything fits to a T. This sequence is far too outlandish to be taken literally. How would his daughter, who accused him of being egocentric, possibly approve of him shooting himself in the face on stage in a desparate attempt to garner recognition? How would his nose heal so quickly that he can take off the bandages right after regaining consciousness? Also, this is the first time ever that he tells his fictional alter ego to shove it, finally letting go of his Birdman obsession. These are a delusional dying man's final thoughts.

I just have to say that Edward Norton absolutely killed it in this film

I think this movie was an absolute masterpiece and the greatest Best Picture winner in a long time

“Perhaps all levels of reality are equally valid.” - Christopher Nolan

My view? He climbed up on the roof and was sitting there like his daughter did earlier in the movie. She saw him, recognized the connection and smiled.

I always saw his superpowers as a metaphor to his artistic greatness hidden from the public, that's why it's only in the end when his daughter sees him flying that he's seen in all of his true potential. Great video as always, a little convoluted at first...

I've seen this movie I think five times now and I see the ending differently each time I watch it. This most recent viewing, though, I saw the ending much more cynically than you explore here. On opening night Riggan gives into his fears and insecurity by attempting suicide instead of following through on this project. He gives into Birdman, the voice of cynical commercial success that doesn't give a shit about art or believe in this play. In response he gets what he gave up when bailed on Birdman 3 - fame, admiration, he becomes the sensation of the moment not for his art, but for his stunt. The cost is his art - with him injured the show would have to be cancelled. With his new nose he literally wakes up as Birdman, what he had been running from and fighting for so long. His flying was always a part of his Birdman persona and happens at his lowest point in the story and so his flying at the end could be seen as leaving the theater behind along with the petty humans we've seen him with in the film to launch back into shallow superstardom, living above the rest of the world in his own ego bubble.

Another well-written breakdown of a well-written movie! ScreenPrims just doesn't disappoint

"Put sum respek on my name." - Birdman

Am i the only person who was very surprised whenbi heard a male narrator?

My take was always, he died on stage and the rest is beautiful fantasy. In what hospital's patient room are the windows operable, especially if there's a guy in bed who just attempted suicide? But that's why I think it is such a great movie. You can view it in so many different ways.

Kinda sucks that Christopher Nolan gave away the end of Inception 5 years prior to it coming out.

Riggan wasn't flying he was hallucinating. He came down from the roof and took a taxi to the theater. Riggan dies from a self-inflicted gunshot wound but, before he passes, the actor experiences a happy ending hallucination - a death dream where he has won the adoration of his fans, reconciled with his wife, been recognized as a success by his critics, and earned his daughter's respect.

I already love this film to death but I'm fascinated by what you delved into when discussing Birdman. Honestly I'm inspired

The ending scene I understand as symbolic / metaphorical. He fulfilled his artistic vision, redeemed himself with his family and so finally, his daughter gets to see him soar (wink wink) beyond his self-doubt, snobbery, etc which are embodied in the Birdman alter-ego he leaves behind.

I think Sam looking at the sky denotes how Riggan chooses to ditch the things that refrained him for facing reality and that he now decides to focus on what's infront of him (considering he chose to fly with the real birds). I think the last scene with sam at the hospital room didnt really happen, its just Innaritu's way of telling us that Riggan has finally moved on from his past

I pretty sure, that he died at the theater, he killed himself in the head, wouldnt make sense that hes nose was scraped. So at the end, its hes last fantasy, how he imagined it, he shot himself, and he was a star, hes dougter loves him, brings flowers that hed like, hes best friend told him that hes a star, and hes wife takes cares of him (Which everything was lacking during the movie). And sam was allready friendly and charmful, it isnt her style. I think the ending scene was hes imagination how it was supposed to be. And the line "Theater was missing blood" or something, sounded alot like hes thoughts. Thats my take.

I always liked to think that his daughter was 'catching the curse'. I always viewed the film partially as a commentary on mental illness, and when she "sees him fly", it's her own genetically transferred psychosis coming to light. Also, she's the only one in the entire film who ever actually acknowledges Riggan's declining mental health. Other characters either accept it when he says he's okay, or they ignore it when he says he's not.

Riggan shot his beak off in the end--the one thing above all else that made hiim birdman.

This is, by far, the best explanation of the ending I've seen, and I've watched a bunch. I like how you conclude that some scenes are just unexplainable, which I think, is an important part of the essence of this film.

most original best picture winner in an age

I'm still pissed that keaton got ducked over 4 best actor.

Riggan attained apotheosis. That is my interpretation. Anyone who can walk through Times Square in their underoos can transcend reality

Thank you so much. After your explanation it just made me love this movie even more. I see now how all his struggles made sense. Each discussion, the traumas, the challenges, were all kinds of critique of the movies, the art and the culture we have these days. What a great talent should do? Give the audience what they want? Be your whole life seeking for everyone´s approval? Being satisfied with what you already got is to be a loser? Losing your wife, your daughter, your family, should be less important than not having a successful career? What does it really mean to be successful? It´s crazy to think how he was always with the theather full, he always had a great audience, he was constantly recognized by his audience in the street, in my point of view, he was not a failure at all. He was a good professional, a very good artist who was living of his art? Wasn´t that enough? Why? When is it going to be enough? Why he had to put himself down all the time? It´s crazy. To go into his head and see the world the way he saw it is so depressing. He was so much better than he thought, but he would never give him credit. His selfishness and his greed made him lose his wife, his daughter, and especially, himself. He created in his mind a world where was not worthy to live. To make it valuable, he had to kill himself. That´s the problem of living a crazy world inside of your head, lost into other people´s expectations and poisoned by your own unbitions and ungratefulness, of someone who is not thankful for what has or has achieved, and get drawned in his own miserable world. It all make sense with the phrase from the beginnig of the movie - a thing is a thing, not what is said of that thing - We ought to be careful with our thoughts, with the modern world who is constantly searching for likes, followers, popularity, and suddently nothing seems real anymore. If we ought to search for something in this life, it has to be the search for reality, the search for truth. Reality, success, truth, is in ourselves, in our family - having the love of our family members and having the respect and admiration of our children and wife should be good enough for us. Doing the best we can, should be enough for us. Not being loved, liked, followed neither admired by people who don´t even know us, should never be considered as not having success. Real success in life is much deeper and much simpler than that.

I always assumed that at the end Sam looked up at the sky and saw the giant meteor/asteroid falling from space. That way the first shot and the last shot sort of looped.

Here is the ending that I think makes the most sense: Riggan died on stage, and the hospital scene after was just a hallucination that Riggan had. I think this is the most fitting, as Riggan was obsessed with being known, so dying on stage was his way of being remembered. After he shoots himself on stage, the camera moves upwards to a stage light, which mirrors the idea of people seeing a bright light before dying.

Another great video! It is often annoying when people just cannot abide by ambiguous endings, even if they're the Directors' intent, but this is another intelligent breakdown of the potential possibilities.

ive been waiting for this since birth

Amazing analysis! Smart, eloquent, honest, not pretending to find smth which isn't there. Thank you for your dedication and effort.

You never mentioned the asteroid falling at the start of the film.

Please don't make the same mistake as watch mojo and allow many people to voice the videos. I love the woman's voice and this voice is nice as well. Keep it that way please

Ending which I believe must be a one of the real endings : 1) He has died on the spot in a theater . 2) Aftermath Hospital scene was also real but his family was talking to the Riggan Thomson's body and those flowers are for his funeral . 3) Most controversial scene which her daughter looks down and then looks up , and she smiles (what actually should be happened was she was happy to see more crowd came to honor his dad ) OR (She has a hallucination like his dad and she watches her dad flying in a air like an actual birdman ) .

Thank you for that amazing breakdown. For me the only ending is this : IT DOES NOY MATTER . just like Cobb in Inception had a wish of seeing his children's faces , so when he sees them , it doesn't matter whether it's dream or not . Similarly , since Riggan in Birdman has got the love , the respect that he wished for . So it doesn't matter what the audience ( voice of mediocrity ) depicts of his jump. I think just before he jumps when he said Goodbye to the birdman , he was actually saying goodbye to that voice of mediocrity ( which is us - the audience ) , as he no longer thinks our criticisms matter.

Explain Tarkovsky's _Stalker_ ending

loved the video.. thank you for amazing content.

The best analysis I've seen of this incredible film yet!

I think he did suicide and her daughter kinda knew it, the moment she didn’t find him in the room, so she just suffered a breakdown right there. Her father was schizophrenic, so she has a high probability of developing the illness. She broke and had a schizophrenic episode right there, seeing his dead father flying as a bird man.

The best breakdown of one of the best films of all time in my opinion

this movie is so much more deeper than the general audience realizes

You know you really dislike a film and that it’s clearly not your cup of tea when this YT video *explanation* is vastly more entertaining and enjoyable than said film. I can be something of an intellect, as many of my drinking buddies tease me about, but when it comes to my movies, all I care about are three things, in order: how much it entertains me, the plot, the characters and the mood. That’s it. If I need Cliff Notes to enjoy a movie, it’s absolutely not for me. I already overthink too much and read a lot. I just want to have fun. Thank you for this.

I really enjoyed this insightful video. I also think it is a shame that although nominated for Best Actor for the film, Michael Keaton did not win it. He deserves it. A great actor who is endlessly versatile.

PAY ATTENTION: theres a montage of the fire in the sky (supposedly Birdman flying) right at the beginning of the movie and near the ending where the drums reach crescendo(glorifies). i'd like to believe Sam saw that streak of fire travelling up the sky. there are a couple of such montages right after riggan shoots his nose. that part with its music is one of the most beautiful feelings. . . . . please watch

I think the simplest explanation is the best one: while each scene in the film where's he's shown to have powers is dismissed by the following scene, you can think of sam looking out the window being the "fantastical" scene with the next theoretical scene showing the true horror of his death in other words we're meant to see Sam inherit her father's gifts in that moment

This movie so heavy for me. Make me think & think again, deeper & deeper. I don't wanna watch this movie anymore

In my opinion when he jumps out at the window, it represents his freedom. Him being inspired by those birds and flying, feeling as though he can finally express his true feelings and fly. It is almost as if he is flying out of the screen into our reality as a changed man who has escaped this fake facade of the screen Birdman, or the theater actor and finally accepted his true and real self. The one his daughter can love, his ex wife can respect, his fellow acting pears can look eye to eye with, he has finally reached the height that he saw for himself not only as a man but as an actor with real emotion. Whether his future would be theater, a serious drama, or a superhero blockbuster; he had finally made it, without selling himself and the pressure of being a has been hero are no more, and he can truly be and do whatever he felt like doing thereafter.

Him ending up as the talk of the town, in the paper and on the news and everything, that is him flying.

The original ending from the first few drafts was quite hilarious. But I guess Disney would’ve never allowed it.

Realistic ending (my take) he was always coocoo and genetically passed it on to his daughter(her rehab and social issues). He fully intended to kill himself with the gun and after failing, jumped out the window and died for real. His daughter returns to the room to see him dead on the street, only to have a schizo "snap" moment where she goes full coocoo as her father before. The screen pans to her looking up as she sees him flying as birdman because she herself has gone off the deep end.

wait you aren't my regular voice of wisdom

This movie embodies what a movie interpretation does to movie goers, much like Cobbs totem in Inception ending. For me, Riggan actually is dead as it was supposed to be. Being relevant again is HARD!

Still LOVE this movie after all these years!!!

Here's the explanation from what I've gathered from watching this movie: Keatons character is truly a being with powers and abilities like flying and telekinesis. He became an actor and made a character and career out of this Birdman alter ego. He can do all of these things and capitalized on his powers through film. But although he can do all of these incredible things, he could never reveal the truth of who and what he is. He can do amazing things that no other human on earth can do but if he revealed these powers to the masses there's literally no telling how mankind would react. So it incurs a new anxiety within Riggan, not only is he seen as somewhat of a joke and as a campy throwaway super hero action film star, he also can't truly showcase his powers due to the ramifications it could set forth. This anxiety and literal existential dread drives him to self destruct is personal relationships and everything he holds dear because he doesn't even know if he could tell his family about his powers. This anxiety and self loathing goes on for years until he decides to put on this play. Every time he uses his "powers" he stops as soon as someone comes around.... instead of using telekinesis to throw a TV he just tosses it with his hands because his agent enters the room. Or making a light fall and injure a terrible actor whom Riggan doesn't like at all. Whenever the cab driver shouts that he wasn't payed, you never see who exactly he was shouting after. If Riggan was flying through the sky people probably wouldn't notice who it is. Riggan has to deal with the alter ego of birdman because of his inability to face the truth of who he is and what he can do, using the play he thinks he can prove himself as a competent actor but more importantly he can let go of Birdman because he wouldn't have to worry about his powers anymore, he would be known and accepted for what he can MAKE opposed to what he can DO. After the success of his play though.... when he thinks he has left birdman behind and no longer needs to dwell on the fact that he's known for portraying a character with abilities that he can actually do... he can just be content with who he's made himself to be. However, when he sees birdman and knows birdman is still messing with his life, Riggan decides to show the world what he truly is. That's why he jumps out of the window. When his daughter looks out of it and doesn't see his corpse on the ground and then looks ups.... she sees him flying in the air and all she can do is smile and laugh because that's the true "unexpected virtue of Ignorance." You see, we the viewers are the ones that are ignorant because we won't accept that someone can fly and move things around. Much like Riggans daughter, she was ignorant to what her father was capable of and when she realized what he could do.... all that she could muster was a smile and a laugh. On a side note: at the beginning of the film there's a very short clip of something falling from the sky... that's more than likely Riggan entering our world. Not to say he's an alien.... just that he is something "different".

Fantastic, best analysis of Birdman on RU-vid hands down

He killed himself on stage and the final scene is a dream. For me, it is a sad ending, and another fascinating example of Riggan confusing love for admiration. Or rather, Riggan seeking admiration over love. The loving bond he shares with Sam is his reality, and is quickly turned on its head just as quickly as it arrived after a short encounter with Birdman in the bathroom. He simply cannot rest - in his mind, he will always be birdman, he cant escape it, and what we see after he jumks out the window is his perpetual fantasy brought to life - his daughter looking up in admiration at his magical abilities. It is a sad and also brilliant take down of self, ego, striving and never being settled. The reality is that he is dead, and that his relentless pursuit of admiration ultinately led him there.

There’s so many ways you can see the movie I’m not sure if there is just “one” true ending.

i think it actually ends in the theater. the hospital scene has been called a "delusion" but i think is more of an opportunity to find other interpretations, for the optimistic viewers that aren't happy with the tragic/comic ending. riggan was insane long before the beggining of the movie, he was suicidal before his divorce and his suicidal tendencies never stopped. i don't think this movie gives any positive message, it's a harsh critic and satiric parody of the entertainment bussiness, narrated by a victim of this system. i think that this message would have been more obvious if the film ended with the crowd applauding a man who just killed himself. for me, this is a nihilistic movie, a critic to everything broadway represents, and more broadly a critic to a sick society, fed by the downfall of a man that gradually becomes more character and less human.

Watch and understand David Lynch's movies/art and the interpretation for Birdman becomes easier to digest. Illusions and waking dreams are used to represent contrasts against the arch-types of life.

Clicks on video for an answer"The director said he wants to leave it up to the audience to decide what the ending means" ok so there is no answer... =____=

He is the Birdman(Vulture) in Spider Man Homecoming. Imagine if this was an easter egg for MCU after, thats why showing IronMan, SpiderMan and choose ex-Hulk actor(Mike) in this film.

i remember Keaton's character being call a celebrity and not an actor, was he an ex super hero turned actor, i was just trying to make sense on the endings and its possibilities

I feel like subjective reality is a long shot. I feel she looks up and it's a metaphor for something like Icarus. Who destroys himself by flying too close to the Sun but it's a beautiful sight. It's sort of like how people will think about the fact that he killed himself on the stage but then appreciate the beauty of the art

For me one of the best films ever made!

Best review and interpretation, bravo!

I love how in the last scene before he goes into the bathroom the colours are a somber yellow however when he comes out everything is blue and drab, this movie was a masterpiece

My interpretation is simply that he isn’t dead and that his daughter finally “looks up” to him

If a legendary icon dies, doesn’t there memory live forever? The ending is left ambiguous because even if riggin died, he lives forever in the eyes of his daughter. Riggins fame/stardom remains immortal, so metaphorically even if he died - he transcended life itself through his work. In the films reality however, riggins death is hinted at from the very beginning. The first moment of the film shows Raymond carvers tombstone quote. Riggin kills himself on stage (both literally and metaphorically). Maybe the entire film is representative of riggins purgatory. The beginning and the end are connected by the burning flame of Icarus in the sky. The singular shot of the jellyfish laments this theory, even if he tries to kill himself, the sting of the current will push him back to shore.

Nice video! One thing I think it overlooks that's important to interpreting the end of the movie is actually a reference the movie makes early on to Roland Barthes. While the quote of Barthes given in the movie involves his view of high vs. low culture, Barthes is perhaps most famous for his work "The Death of the Author," which argues against the popular idea that the interpretation of a work depends upon the intentions of its author. That the end of the movie is open to interpretation is a perfect embodiment of Barthes' idea, and that the ending ambiguously involves a death is, well, perfection.

I think the whole movie prior to the hospital scene was a dream. I mean thats exactly the way i dream. Shit happens fast, no cuts, lots of things happen unexpectedly and make no sense or are relevant to anything at all after they happen, and i have superpowers. The hospital scene is real. And then the window scene... i think everyone can interpret it as thet want, you cant be wrong about that.

Loved the video, great analysis. Btw was happy to hear that cute voice at the end :)

Let me save you 10 minutes watching this. He jumped out the window and his daughter saw his soul flying like in the other scenes. It's not that complicated.

Even a successful performance could not defeat the "bird" in his head. That's why he decided to.. "fly"

5:18 inception came out in 2010 but the Princeton address is dated as 2005?

In the last scene when his nose is replaced you can see that it somewhat look likes a beak which represents a beak same as which the imaginary birdman have so i think he really started believing that he has become birdman or the director wants us to see that he has come to that state where he can't take any more burden and he just go to the window and see a beautiful view of birds flying around he just to commits suicide and when he jumped all the world or from his point of view the other people who have been disrespecting him finally get to see the real birdman which he has become

This video is more confusing then actual movie 😂

It's a total copout for a director to say 'create your own ending'. Tell us your story, Mr Director - I'll decide if it works or not.

The fact the movie is nearly a onetake is a clue for me, that the moment he shoots himself on stage is his death. Because the thing with the nose seems unlikely(his nose is pretty intact) and thats the only time we really see a clear cut. I think what comed afterwards are his or his daughters hallucinations. And everything before was real (like he tought he had flown but had taken a taxi etc.)

It reminds me of Don quijote de la mancha where it really makes yourself ask does it matter if he's crazy as long as he's happy perhaps his life is better than ours because he's happy and doesnt worry so much about what's real were we the audience who do focus,on the reality of things might not be so happy

U didn't mention the meteor

The ending reminds me of the end of Brazil, and also American Beauty (probably inspired by Hemingway's "The Short Happy Life of Francis McCumber"). That the character achieves their true goals, and confidence in themselves and their strengths and abilities, by the end, and so even though they die, that is not what matters.

I took as riggan died the moment he jumped from building and the rest was his frustrated hallucination and Sam's drug addiction makes her to hallucinate about her dad's flying ability of Birdman.

can you please do a video on My Own Private Idaho :"

Amazing analysis ! 👏

The ending is about alexandro not being able to think of a good ending for his movie …

I came for an answer and went with an philosophy lesson...

I had a feeling like this was more like M. Night's Unbreakable series. The final traumatic event and Riggin 's belief in his powers, unlocked his true powers

I hate this type of endings where you just feel empty like you just wasted 2 hours of your time watching a movie with an unexplained ending 😩

Thank you so much for this

The way I see is that his daughter does see his body but she thinks her father finally achieved what he was looking for, and that even though he had died, he was flying in an afterlife believed by her.

This gave me some much needed perspective. Thank you!

i really like ur choice of font :)

He killed himself at end of the play. Achieving imortality every actors dream

Honestly reagon finally being able to fly like birdman is the best way to look at it.

The reality of birdman discourse.

There are a number of "Ending Explained" videos for this movie, and none of them explain anything. They tell you what happened and then talk about theories. If a movie ends like this, don't play the game. Just say "okay, he jumped out of the window and flew away". Same thing happened with "Inception".. months of folks posting "Who's dream was it really?" Don't play the game. It was DiCaprio's. Done.