★★★★
It’s been well established that Richard Linklater had
planned on telling the story of a young boy growing up through his childhood,
through adolescence, and into adulthood. He had spoke before of doing a project
filming over the course of 12 years. I never realized he was actually doing it,
at least not until the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year where “Boyhood”
made its highly anticipated premier. Yes, after 12 years of on-again/off-again
filming, Richard Linklater has finally delivered his magnum opus and there’s
never been anything quite like it.
Watching “Boyhood” is like watching a time capsule being
opened before your very eyes. It’s rich with soul and emotion from beginning to
end. It’s indescribable watching this film unfold in front of you, knowing that
all the principle players involved dedicated so much time of their lives to
making this film happen and watching each of them age naturally on screen.
The story revolves around Mason, Jr. (Ellar Coltrane) who we
first meet when he’s only about six years old. He lives in rural Texas with his
single mother (Patricia Arquette) and his older sister Sam (Lorelei Linklater).
They’re just barely making it in their current living situation. Mom decides to
move to Houston where she can go to school and her mother (Libby Vallari) can
help out with watching the kids.
In Houston, Mason and Sam’s dad (Ethan Hawke) reenters their
lives. He wants to be the fun dad, but is still just irresponsible enough to
drive mom crazy. Mom also falls in love with her professor, Dr. Welbrock (Marco
Perella), and the two ultimately marry, joining their two families. But all
isn’t so Brady Bunch for Mason and his mom and sister.
The film continues on following a total of 12 years in the
life of Mason. We see plenty of his mother, his father, and his sister, but
Mason is always the focal point of film. Think of it as 12 short films – one
for each year – all strung together. That’s essentially what this is. Richard
Linklater has picked out one episode from each year in the life of Mason to
show us.
There are so many different elements of Mason’s life that we
– as an audience – can either relate to from personal experience or from
knowing someone in a similar situation. We see his mother’s marriages and
divorces, relocation from one city to another, the abusive alcoholic
stepfather, the fun loving but never around biological father, troubles in
school, newfound hobbies, and first loves. It’s nearly impossible to watch this
film and not find a familiar event from your own childhood.
It’s also utterly impossible to watch “Boyhood” and not be
moved by seeing everyone naturally age throughout the film. The kids are the
most noteworthy, but then there’s Hawke and Arquette. Since they’re the most
recognizable names and faces, it’s easy to see how the years wear on them. It
puts things into perspective just how quickly time moves when you can see a
familiar actor like Hawke at the beginning of this movie realizing that he was
only one year removed from filming “Training Day” when this began or that
Arquette completed her entire run on “Medium” during the filming of this movie.
“Boyhood” also acts as a time portal to you own life as
well, not because of the plotline, but based on the time period where action
occurs. Richard Linklater never tells you what year we’re in. You can only
judge the time based on the music in the soundtrack, the technology on the
screen, the current events in the background, and most importantly the age of
the actors. When each scene begins, you immediately try to discern where you
were when this event was taking place. Some events are easy to pick out. Hawke
sitting there talking about the war in Iraq or Mason and Sam placing
Obama/Biden campaign signs in people’s yards. Others are trickier. Hawke at an
Astros game with his kids with Roger Clemmens on the mound (a quick Google
search lets you know that – based on the events mentioned in the game – it took
place on April 18, 2006) or Mason listing off the biggest movies of one
particular summer (2008). Or even funnier, Hawke and Coletrain discussing the
feasibility of what a new “Star Wars” trilogy might look like if they ever make
it (the conversation takes place in 2008, about 4 years before the new trilogy
was announced).
The acting is tremendous across the board. We expect that
from Arquette and Hawke (well, at least when he’s working with Richard
Linklater, I mean). We are also treated to great supporting performances as
well, such as Marco Perellea as an alcoholic college professor. Lorelei
Linklater (Richard’s daughter) also puts on a stellar performance. The movie
revolves around Mason, but as his sister she’s very much apart of his entire
childhood, from tormenting him to becoming one of his best friends. But the
movie belongs to Ellar Coletrain who never seems overwhelmed by the massive
task at hand, especially when asked to play into some deeper emotions. And you
can see him mature as an actor as the film progresses. It’s easy to tell he’s
been spoon fed direction as a child, but later draws upon his own life
experiences as both he and Mason grow up.
This is a film that makes you think in a much more profound
way than anything I’ve ever seen before. I’m not saying it’s hard to follow,
and I’m not saying it’s difficult to process. Quite the opposite. “Boyhood” is
unique and certainly one-of-a-kind. I’ve never seen any movie like this before.
It’s a masterpiece. I’ve referred to other films with that word before, but
none of them were this exceptional and rare. I doubt very much that another
film like this will ever come along again. Enjoy the uniqueness of this film.
There are so many different elements to latch onto. But unlike your childhood,
which is - I’m sorry to say – gone
forever, Richard Linklater leaves us Mason’s in the form of “Boyhood” to be
relived forever.
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