Coastal View News
“Boyhood” covers 12 years in a boy’s
life (ages six to 18). Filmmaker Richard Linklater and his prodigious cast took
the same number of years to film it. That’s because, each year, they met
somewhere in Texas to shoot a couple of scenes. Then they went home. Then they
came back the next year and did it all over again. They did that until the
thing was done.
“Boyhood” is no documentary—it is a
work of fiction—but the truth of it is inescapable. The characters are there, at those times, in those places, really
growing up, really coming together and apart, really learning about life and
finding out who they are.
The boy is named ‘Mason’ (Ellar
Coltrane). At six, Mason lives with his mom (Patricia Arquette) and sister,
Samantha (Lorelei Linklater; i.e., the director’s daughter). His dad (Ethan
Hawke), who has been MIA for years, is trying to break back into the family.
But it’s tough. Mason and Samantha get along well with their dad, and he turns
out to be pretty darn thoughtful and caring—not your average deadbeat. Mom
isn’t having it though. She is done with dad—ready to move on.
Unfortunately mom does not have very
good taste in men. Not that it’s her fault—sometimes it is tough to tell. But
the men she looks to for love and comfort are anything but loving and
comforting. They only introduce further instability in an already unstable situation.
Some of the scenes here feel a tad bit
stilted. It takes a little time for Ellar Coltrane and Lorelei Linklater to
find themselves on screen. But this is forgivable—more than forgivable, in fact.
Their growing up on screen mirrors their growing up in the story. Their
occasional awkwardness makes sense—it is a seamless part of the whole,
intricately woven tapestry.
Linklater celebrates such awkwardness.
He celebrates unevenness, insecurity, and incongruity in this film. Although
various brilliant and subtle motifs emerge and reemerge throughout, Linklater,
to his credit, does not succumb to making this film about any particular idea or theme or concept. It is more about the
characters’ grappling with these things, and living, and struggling, and
surviving, and learning and growing without ever being certain or comfortable
or fully mature.
That is why this film is so compelling.
Do not expect melodrama, shocking twists, triumph or devastation, or too many scenes
that will make you gasp. These moments are largely ignored. Mason’s graduation
from high school, for example, is a huge moment in his life, but we do not see
a second of it. Instead what we see is the after party with a hodgepodge of
parents, friends, and awkward acquaintances milling about making small talk and
navigating their insecurities and the strands of their entangled lives. That is
what this film is about. All 165 beautiful thrilling minutes of it.
The concept of “Boyhood” and the methods
used to make it are unique and ambitious. But the results are even more so.
This film is a landmark. It is fresh and unique, but it also evokes a striking nostalgic
feeling—an unmistakable familiarity with one’s growing up, the remembrance of
which sparks wonder, perplexity, maybe a touch of longing or sadness, and most
importantly, a sense of awe at the indescribable and miraculous growth and
development—the cocooning and emergence—of a human being.
In a way that’s unlike any other
medium, film can reveal a dynamic, evolving reality that cannot be fully put
into words. It can explore truths that cannot be uttered. Linklater and his
collaborators have done right by this art. But, even more, they have told a
story, which, from the lips of many less able individuals would have either
been trite or else horribly boring and mundane, but from Linklater et al. is
revealed to be of immeasurable significance and beauty.
