Boyhood (2014)
Certified: 15
Duration: 164 minutes
Directed by: Richard Linklater
Starring: Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Lorelei Linklater, Ethan Hawke, Libby Villari, Marco Perella, Brad Hawkins, Jenni Tooley, Zoe Graham, Charlie Sexton, Jamie Howard
KRS Releasing Ltd
Richard Linklater, who made the evocative films Before Sunrise (1995) and its two beautiful sequels, the visionary A Scanner Darkly (2006) and the good-natured School of Rock (2003) among other noteworthy movies, returns with a masterpiece.
While it could have easily fallen into the trap of being just an experimental film, Boyhood turns out to be an epic of the human spirit and is designed and constructed in such a manner as to leave an imprint on the viewer.
Linklater here teams once again with Ethan Hawke to deliver this coming-of-age story. The film was shot over the space of 12 years with the same child, Ellar Coltrane, playing the main role. The production crew shot the film for a few weeks every year, showing Coltrane and the rest of the cast naturally ageing and going through their daily life.
At some point Linklater had agreed with Hawke that, if anything happened to him, it would be up to the actor to continue the project.
The most evident thing in this movie is how natural everything looks and feels. There’s this effortless feel to it that belies the careful preparation and commitment placed in this production.
The capturing of the passage of time is very eloquent and tangible. Watching the cast, especially the young ones, develop will be a wonder to behold and will make one look with a more self-aware eye at the people in our lives.
The film revolves around Mason (Ellar Coltrane) who is growing up in Texas with his single mother Olivia (Patricia Arquette), who lives on a sort of emotional edge. He has an older sister named Samantha (Lorelei Linklater). Mason is in thrall of his father Mason Sr (Ethan Hawke) with whom he spends time on sporadic moments, but this time is very precious for him as his memories seem to revolve around his father.
The most evident thing about this movie is how natural everything looks and feels
His mother has an affinity for men who are not stable at all and Mason feels the lack of a male figure in his life. Over time ,his life starts to develop: his personality, his instincts and his talents. We see his passage through the awkward moments very much like an ugly duckling making baby swan steps.
After a little time, Boyhood will ensnare the audience in its relaxed and undistinguished manner. The film’s depiction of the time spent between the children and Hawke as the father is spot on. In fact, it is as much about Hawke’s character as much as it is about that of young Mason.
Mason Sr is a young man who has still to outgrow his boyhood years and, like his son, his chacter too develops on screen.
Kudos have to go to Lorelei Linklater who is unashamedly natural in this movie. However, the true star is Coltrane who makes Mason’s development from young child to rebel to reflective teen seem to be a natural course of action.
Strangely enough, the two-and-a-half-hour running time seems to race by as we see this collection of life moments build up this boyhood.
In its quiet manner, this is an ambitious and groundbreaking film, one that should inspire film-makers to try out something different.