Review: Boyhood

by Trevor Kirkendall

★★★★

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.