The Case for Boyhood

One of the films I failed to see at the film festival, as it was totally sold out by the time I came to buying tickets, was Richard Linklater’s latest release Boyhood.  This nigh 3 hour long film has earned much kudos and praise.  While the story itself might be straightforward enough and wonderfully told, the more ambitious aspect is that it was all made over the course of 12 or so years, with the central character, Mason Junior (played by Ellar Coltrane), literally growing up before our eyes.

 

In the early years, we tend to just follow Mason as he exists in the lives of his parents, played by Rosanna Arquette (whose hairstyle changes as the seasons of Medium, presumably being filmed at the same time) and Ethan Hawke, and to cultural references like the music of the time or video games and television.  Mason Junior’s parents are divorced and so take their children (Mason and his sister, played by Linklater’s own daughter, Lorelei) on different journeys: with Dad, the kids have fun and lead a fairly playful lifestyle; with Mum, life is less frivolity and more nuts and bolts, with moves and relationships and homework.  

As Mason Junior gets older, he becomes a more active participant in the film, the story beginning to be able him rather than more being on about events that happen around him.  He discovers booze, bragging and girls (not necessarily in that order).  He discovers a love of and a knack for photography.  He gets a job, gets a car, and gets quite a few haircuts.  He deals with girlfriends and inlaws and step relatives.

Arquette has a lot of heavy lifting to do throughout the course of the film.  She has several relationships, mainly to alcoholics (though the common factor tends to be her; is she the cause of their addiction?), and goes back to school to get herself her dream job.  She has to portray the loving mum, the driven career woman, the relationship seeker, and the breadwinner.  And she does all of these incredibly well, being funny and dramatic and understated and loving, not always at the same time.

Hawke meanwhile flits in and out of the story, eventually appearing with a criminal porntache, signalling when he is no longer the cool Dad and has turned instead into the boring husband.  His sections also tend to bring the most laughs: from a birthday with bible thumping inlaws to setting up billboards for Barak Obama during his first run for the Presidency. 

With both of these actors, you know you are getting great performances.  From Coltrane, though, it is very hard to determine whether the quietly confident yet sensitive soul portrayed is entirely an act, or if it is fairly close to Coltrane’s real life personality.  How much is he bringing to the movie, and how much is the movie imparting on him?  There is no interview afterwards to show what his “true” personality is like, and so the question is kind of left hanging, even if it isn’t really a question the film promises to address, or even poses.

One cannot say this film is rushed, but considering the mammoth effort it took to put the whole thing together, and the fact the film is meant to reflect a “real” life, it is enjoyable and engaging throughout.  And thinking about the logistics of it all, that just always blows my mind.

Verdict:  Boyhood is a visionary film.  The storyline may be one you have heard a thousand times before, but the sheer audaciousness of following the same actor over 12 years to show time passing and to show how life happens is incredible.  10 haircuts out of 10.