Short(ish) review #15

Boyhood (2014) - 12 years in the making

In my last post, I chose Interstellar as my top film of 2014. I am now wishing I could go back and correct that. I missed this film's cinematic release but really wanted to see it, so waiting with much anticipation for the DVD release. Most critics have named it their favourite film of 2014 (Mark Kermode's second favourite) and I am not surprised. Give it the Oscars now that it truly deserves.

For the few people who don't know this already, Boyhood is a film from director Richard Linklater that was shot over a 12-year period, following the life of Mason (Ellar Coltrane) from age 6 to 18. Also present throughout this period are his mum Olivia (Patricia Arquette), his sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater) and his dad Mason Sr. (Ethan Hawke).

This film does not just experience Mason's growing up, but also the rest of his family. Everybody in this film grows up and everything changes. All the characters are played by the same actors, even the minor ones. One of the big changes and also difficulties for Mason and Samantha is the fact their parents are separated and the numerous step-fathers. All of Patricia Arquette's relationships just seem to be bad news (all of which feature the recurring motifs of alcohol and abuse) and she has to deal with these as well as the struggles of being a single-parent. By contrast, Ethan Hawke is essentially a reckless big kid, who drives a Pontiac, yet as the years go on he becomes more mature and has his own family. Ellar Coltrane and Lorelei Linklater are certainly rising stars to watch out for, even if they will be constantly associated with. The events in Mason's life that this film portrays should be familiar to the audience as they should have experience of these as well - moving home, going to college, relationships, first beer, etc. - as well as what many would consider to be lesser moments which still have relevance.

Boyhood is the same length as Transformers: Age of Extinction. The main difference is that Boyhood is made by people who care about cinema and are not just looking for a quick buck; its time flies by. Honestly, this is up there with Dazed and Confused and the Before trilogy as perhaps Linklater's best film. He remains one of the best independent directors around today. There have been attempts to do similar projects to this in the past, most of which were unsuccessful. For example, Lars von Trier was going to make a movie where he shot 3 minutes ever year until the mid 2020s but gave up; maybe he got bored of it. You need patience for a project like this, something that Linklater obviously has. Do not forget that he was making other films at the same time and this was a "side project". Over the 12-year period, he would film three days for each year and edit it as they went along. The time changes occur very naturally, matching the subtle changes going on; they are not just announced loudly to the audience or with a subtitle.

Useless trivia - Linklater originally intended to call the film 12 Years, but chose not to in order to avoid confusion with 12 Years A Slave.

So far, Boyhood has won three Golden Globes and three BAFTAs - Best Director for Linklater, Best Supporting Actress for Patricia Arquette and Best Film. It's also been nominated for Best Original Screenplay and Ethan Hawke has received a Best Supporting Actor nod. It has been up against the likes of Birdman and The Theory of Everything. I haven't seen them, but understand that they are both really good films; as you may know I did enjoy another film that is in contention - The Grand Budapest Hotel. However, I feel as if Boyhood has done enough. People will inevitably attempt to copy its style; if they do, just remember who got there first...