Boyhood

Writer-director Richard Linklater loves the idea of following a fictional character through different stages of their life.  In his trilogy of romantic dramas, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and last year's Before Midnight, we have watched two characters and their relationship grow and develop over the series with 9 years separating each entry.  His latest film, Boyhood, follows a similar but much more ambitious approach.  Rather than follow its characters over a series of films, it manages to fit an entire 12 years worth of a character's life in a film that runs nearly 3 hours, but is completely enthralling from beginning to end.

This is a sort of movie we are not likely to see again anytime soon.  Linklater and his cast filmed the movie off and on over a 12-year-period, so we actually get to see the actors mature and age up on the screen.  But it is much more than an impressive gimmick - Boyhood is one of the better coming of age stories to hit the screen in a long time, as it follows a young boy from the time he is six years old, to the point that he leaves home the first time for college.  There is a documentary feel to the film, as there is no real Point A to Point B plot structure.  Instead, we follow a young man named Mason (played over the course of 12 years by Ellar Coltrane), and his various experiences from family turmoil, to experiencing heartbreak of a failed relationship, and making and losing friends over the years.  It's fascinating to watch not just the character, but also the performance of Mr. Coltrane mature before our eyes.  Everyone in the movie naturally ages along with him, but it is Coltrane's performance that is the most fascinating, as he is our window into this movie's world.

When we first meet young Mason, he's an average kid with his head in the clouds, and a natural curiosity about things like arrowheads and TV cartoon superheroes.  He lives with his single mother (Patricia Arquette) and his sister, Samantha, who is one year older than him (Lorelei Linklater, daughter of the director).  Mason and Samantha's mom is divorced from the boy's father (Ethan Hawke), and is trying to build a better life for both her and her children.  Over the following 12 years, the mother will remarry, get divorced again, and try to build her confidence back up to where she can make a comfortable life for her family.  As for Mason, he bonds with his birth-father over weekend and summer visitations, falls in love for the first time, discovers a passion for photography, and follows that uncertain and awkward path that we all face on our way to young adulthood.

Nothing is overblown in Boyhood.  There is no melodrama, and no forced contrived dangers that the characters face.  Even when Mason must deal with his mother's new abusive husband, the situation is handled in a mature and sensible way, and there is no manipulative music score to tell us how we're supposed to be feeling.  This only adds to the pseudo-documentary feel that the film has, and helps create the illusion that we really are glancing at the life of this young man and the people who surround him during the dozen years the film covers.  The characters here come across as people we already know - they could be our neighbors, friends, or family members.  Linklater has long had a gift for natural sounding dialogue, and to just follow people having a conversation, and manage to make it engaging.  He once again displays that talent here.  There's not one frame that feels artificial or scripted.  The kids can be annoying sometimes.  The mom loses her temper.  Mason experiments with drugs and alcohol as he gets older.  All of these moments ring true.

What also adds a heightened sense of realism to the film is that some aspects of the story are left unfulfilled.  Just like in real life, people drift in and out of Mason's inner circle.  Friends that he has at one stage in his life are never seen or heard from later on.  For once, this is not the fault of an underdeveloped screenplay.  Rather, this is the film's way of showing us the characters have moved onto another stage in their life.  There's also no need for subtitles signaling what point in the life or what year the movie is currently set in.  This is instead handled by the characters talking about the events of the era, such as the Iraq War, or Obama running for President.  This too adds to the feeling that we are watching life unfold for these characters.  There are no typical Hollywood storytelling techniques used here, and the movie is all the better for it.

Boyhood must have been a tremendous undertaking for everyone involved.  In fact, I know it was.  Linklater's experiment has paid off with one of the most fascinating movies of the year, and one we're not likely to see again anytime soon, as I doubt the major studios would have the patience to devote 12 years to a single project being filmed.  This is not just an innovative film.  It is a joyous film full of warmth, humor and life.

See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!

0 comments