MovieChat Forums > Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) Discussion > Why was his daughter so horrible?

Why was his daughter so horrible?

posted 8 years ago by billanubis
5 replies | jump to latest

Her father is clearly schizophrenic, struggling with severe mental illness, and her sole response is either to give him the cold shoulder or yell about how his whole life is worthless. What kind of person says that to someone who is so ill and clearly struggling with everyday life?

The hospital scene at the end between them was nonsensical. It didn't feel earned. She treated him like *beep* and yet showed no remorse, no hints of guilt that the mentally ill guy she laid into tried to kill himself. Nothing of the kind.

Were we meant to sympathise with her?

[–] otter 8 years ago

I don't think Riggan was schizophrenic, he didn't show any other of secondary effects - no flat facial expression or the characteristic use of language. It wasn't clear whether the Birdman episodes were hallucinations, fantasy, or somewhere in between - it was just clear that the other characters didn't know about them. They didn't think Riggan was mentally ill, just foolish.

And his daughter was horrible because she hadn't been brought up right... by Riggan! Remember she was just out of rehab, at her age? And that he kept drinking in front of her? IMHO she was meant to show that other than the Birdman films, his life had been mostly failure, including as a parent.

“Seventy-seven courses and a regicide, never a wedding like it!

[–] SarahJConnor 8 years ago

yell about how his whole life is worthless.

that scene was incredible, though. Stone was on fire.

imo

[–] billanubis 8 years ago

But it made no sense. What was her point? What was she saying? She was the one doing drugs, and then getting all uppity and screaming at her mentally ill father for trying to keep her clean.
She starts babbling about the play, and how it's bad because white people like it? And gets angry because her Dad doesn't have a Twitter account? What does any of it even mean?

[–] SarahJConnor 8 years ago

he has harshed her buzz so she's bitchy. she calls him out on his desperate bid for relevancy while he's completely out of the cultural loop, Pop or Haute.

imo

[–] Sheldonshells 8 years ago

I agree with you. I hope the filmmakers weren't expecting the viewer to applaud for this mean-spirited, bratty girl and think she's all great. I mean make her that way fine, the character isn't bad in and of itself, just don't make mean, bug-up-their-butt characters like this AND expect people to sympathize with them or even like them. I find especially with female characters they expect people just to like them and root for them no matter how bad they are, hopefully that kind of silliness is not going on here. I thought she was a good character, a mostly unlikable good character.