For months, critics have raved about ‘Boyhood.’ It is a film of epic proportions. It’s not special effects that make this movie special; it’s the care and dedication of the actors, writers and director Richard Linklater.
‘Boyhood’ spans 12 years, which is exactly how long it took to make the film. The actors and crew got together every year to film parts of the movie.This idea is absolutely mind blowing in a time when big studios are completing blockbusters in just a few months.
“Boyhood” is the exact opposite of most things we’ve seen on the big screen lately. Audiences get to see the actors naturally age and grow. For the actors who play the parent’s–Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette–they probably don’t care much for this aging but watching the transformation of the two children, who play their kids– Ellar Coltrane (Mason, Jr) and Lorelai Linklater (Samantha)– is amazing.
The little boy who once rode his bike around the neighborhood with his best buds quickly turns into an awkward pre-teen and then an emo photographer (painted nails and all) and we last see him as a promising 18-year-old moving into his first dorm. By the end of the film, you want to pinch his cheeks and say ‘I knew you when you were this old.” Because by the end of the film, you really feel like you know this family. You feel like you belong at Mason Jr’s graduation party and at the family meeting where they discuss selling their house and downsizing.
Samantha shows the same metamorphosis as her brother and the parents’ transformations are enlightening, but the film’s documentary style focuses primarily on Mason Jr and the way he deals with an ever changing family dynamic. His parents divorce when he is young. When his mom finds love again, she tends to find it in the form of a drunk, immature man, masquerading as a responsible adult.
The film is about Mason Jr’s maturation but it’s also about the notion of time and how it seems to fly by. The inescapable concept of time is illustrated in how different the children look in new scenes. In about 2 1/2 hours, we see four people realistically age 12 years.
The film’s director, Richard Linklater, likes showcasing time as a theme, as we’ve seen in “Before Sunset and “Before Midnight,” in which he worked with Ethan Hawke. The two have similar goals when it comes to filmmaking and their projects always delight.
Like these other two projects, “Boyhood” is heavy with dialogue. Yes, there’s a lot of talking even when Mason Jr and Samantha are in their teen years when kids don’t want to talk to their parents. In fact, a whole scene is dedicated to Mason Jr and Samantha not having anything to say to their father when he has only a few precious visitation days with them. These poignant conversations make “Boyhood” a true gem and a genuine portrayal of the American modern family.
This year’s award ceremonies have been a buzz with “Boyhood” talk, especially talk that Patricia Arquette will hold the Oscar in her hand in a few weeks.She is wonderful in the film. From her attitude to her wardrobe, Arquette embodies motherhood–the good, the unglamorous, the beautiful and the downright awful. In her, we can all see someone we know and when the movie is over you may want to call up your friend, who is a divorced mom with kids, and tell them they’re doing a great job.
The one criticism I would have of ‘Boyhood’ is its length, which I really shouldn’t complain much about since the storyline spans 12 years. However, when a film is shot like a documentary, each scene tends to take on a slower pace. Because of this, “Boyhood” is noticeably long. But (and this is a big but), the movie is fantastic and despite whether it wins any Oscars, the sheer dedication it took to make this movie means it will hold a place in movie history. It’s appropriate to end this review with a quote from Linklater on the concept of time in movies: “The most unique property of cinema is how it lets you mold time, whether it’s over a long or a very brief period.”
‘Boyhood’ is still showing in theaters, however, some movie studios have decided to make their award nominated films more available leading up to award season. Because of that, ‘Boyhood’ is available at Redbox, so save yourself some cash and rent it for a day!
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