What were you doing 12 years ago? I was 11 years old and getting ready to start 5th grade. Now, I have a high school diploma and a bachelors degree. 12 years is not a long time at all compared to the average human life, but, so much can happen and it seems to go by in the blink of an eye. In the summer of 2002, director Richard Linklater began an experiment that was so risky it could have wasted over a decade of his life as well as all those involved. Boyhood is the result of how a big risk can take you further than you can ever imagine. It is now easy to say that the maturing process of what it means to be an American cinematic classic has reached a new height. Boyhood completely opens the door to a new age of filmmaking and redefines what it means to be a "work of art."
This is that "next best thing" that everyone has been waiting for.
Back in 2002, Patricia Arquette was beginning filming as Kissin' Kate Barlow in the adaptation of the book Holes. In the same year, Ethan Hawke was just getting through with all of his attention from the critically-acclaimed action-drama Training Day alongside Denzel Washington. Little did we know, both Arquette and Hawke had teamed up with Linklater to portray the separated and struggling parents of Mason and Samantha Evans.
Ellar Coltrane plays Mason Evans Jr. His older sister, Samantha, is played by Lorelei Linklater (daughter of director, Richard). Boyhood begins with Mason at age 5 living with his sister and mother in the middle of a transitioning period of moving. Arquette needs to further her education in order to support her children so the three of them pack up and move to Houston. Dad shows up from time to time to spoil the kids and take them on little trips despite the reluctancy of Mom's new love interests.
Given its indie film status, it appears as a documentary but it is very important to keep in mind that these are all actors playing the same role for over a decade in real time. It can't be understated how groundbreaking and moving that is. Boyhood is the boldest move by a filmmaker in the past 50 years.
There are parts that are light-hearted and funny. There are times in the maturing process that are difficult to watch and even appalling. And then there are moments that push the awkward limits when you just can't wait to see what comes next for this family. As Mason Jr. tries to figure out life little by little, Mom, Dad, and Samantha have their own growing up to do in the mean time.
This is literally a trip through a 12-year time capsule. The fashion, the music, the video games, the movies, the athletes. Everything. The world around is constantly changing and these characters are just adapting through and through.
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| L to R: director Richard Linklater, Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane, Lorelei Linklater, and Ethan Hawke attend a screening of Boyhood in July 2014. |
The complete transformation physically and emotionally of these characters is so entrancing because it's so believable. There are a lot of cliche and cheesy moments that are just there to let the audience know that it's all a part of life; nothing is left out. Richard Linklater has cemented his place in the pages of film history with this one and has proven to the world just what dedication of the highest form means. Boyhood pulls off coming full-circle and still leaving some of the blanks to be filled in by the viewer. This film perfectly nails the movie-going experience and doesn't hit the brakes once. GRADE: 9.8/10
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