BOYHOOD
By Gary Murray
Starring Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke
Written and directed by Richard Linklater
Running time 166 min
MPAA Rating R
Selig Film Rating FULL PRICE
Richard Linklater is a director who has made some great independent films. Staying close to his Lone Star roots, he has crafted such flicks as Before Sunrise, Bernie, School of Rock and Dazed and Confused. Though Richard has crafted some 20 films, he has never truly broken into the Hollywood mainstream. His latest Boyhood may change that.
The story is of a Texas boy growing up into a man. Taking 12 years to film, Richard uses the same young cast which includes his daughter Lorelei. We see the changes in the children as they grow into teens and adults. By using this technique, the film almost feels like a documentary.
Our single mom (Patricia Arquette) is struggling to keep a roof over her head with little two kids. She makes the decision to move to Houston to finish her education. Her two kids, Mason (Ellar Coltrane) and his big sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater), do not want to leave their friends. Their absent Dad (Ethan Hawke) is off in Alaska but makes the occasional appearance in the kid’s lives.
But, mom is determined. She takes college classes and becomes involved with her professor. Dad does move back to be near his children but mom goes off and marries Professor Bill (Marco Perella). He has two kids about the same ages as Samantha and Mason and the four kids bond as a family.
But, Bill is an abusive dad and an alcoholic. He physically and mentally tortures everyone but seems to have a special focus on Mason, having his head shaved by the local barber. Just when the film begins to teeter toward an ABC After School Special, mom wises up enough to leave. It is off to another city and another life.
This life leads to another man with a drinking problem. For a college professor, she never sees the destructive pattern that is her life. Throughout the film, Dad does make appearances and tries to be the best dad he knows how to be.
Boyhood culminates with Mason having his heart broken and eventually leaving for college. It is the same scenario that every college student has faced—that moment where they know that they are never coming home again. It is about the tremendous growth that happens in a scant few years.
There are so many brilliant moments in Boyhood, moments that everyone has experienced. In one scene, Mason is hanging out with some older boys and has his first beer. There is this contemplative instant where he is thinking “This is my first beer.” We see him having to make judgments on everyone in his life, deciding that people are not just slated into good and bad but are individuals will numerous, different traits. Mason gets his first Bible and first gun on his same birthday, two gifts he has no idea what to do with.
Although Boyhood could use a bit of a trim here and there, it doesn’t abuse its nearly three hour time frame. This is such a long story that it needs its massive time frame to get the entire narrative in. Even taking 12 years of a life and boiling it down to less than three hours does a disservice to life itself. As a musician once said, “Life is a long song.”
Patricia Arquette deserves an Oscar nod for this film. She is the brilliant mother who at times is just clueless about life. While she can analyze on a college level, she never sees the patterns of mistakes in her own life. As she struggles to make a life for herself and her children, she never realizes that they are growing. In an ‘empty nest’ scene toward the end, there is real human emotion and heartbreak on how fast it all goes by.
Marco Perella has been kicking around the acting world for a number of years but finally gets to show his skills as Professor Bill. He is clueless as a father and overwhelmed with life. He takes his frustrations out on all the wrong people at all the wrong times.
This is easily one of the best films that Richard Linklater has made. Much like the Sunrise series, this is a personal work that probably mirrors his life. He captures the pains and joys of growing up without ever becoming overtly sentimental.
Richard found the perfect kid with Ellar Coltrane. Within a few minutes, we are rooting for this youngster, hoping he will have a perfect life without any major problems or stresses. Everyone knows that will never happen but there is always that hope.
It is a very long way to Oscar season but Boyhood can be considered the early front-runner. Will it make it all the way to awards season? Only time will tell. So far, it is one of the best of 2014.
