JOIN USBoyhood
English (A) ¬¬¬¬
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette
Director: Richard Linklater
Sometimes the essence of a movie cannot be captured in words.
Richard Linklater, the director of Boyhood, had written the script for his 2001 film Waking Life, an underrated but brilliant film that delves through philosophy and the horrifyingly magical realm of dreams.
A character in Waking Life had said that so much of what humans feel is intangible; that words are inert, dead symbols — a sentiment that one can relate to while trying to accurately describe the Boyhood experience.
Linklater directed, produced and wrote the screenplay for Boyhood and has excelled in each of those departments.
He has created a sort of modern masterpiece, shooting the film over 12 years with the actors aging in reality as the movie progresses.
No two actors play the past and future version of a character, which cannot be highlighted enough because it is not everyday you get to see a bunch of people age 12 years in a little over two hours.
One would think that the movie simply revolves around the life of a boy and how he comes of age; the usual high school story about hating classes, having a secret crush, triumphing over the bullies and winning the girl of your dreams. Boyhood is above those cliches.
The protagonist in the film is Mason Evans Jr (Ellar Coltrane) and him and his family have several rough patches.
An absent father, a stressed out mother and the rush to get to life’s next checkpoint in hope of a better future can be emotionally strenuous.
The story, which traces Mason’s life from the age of six to sixteen, depicts how life does not always turn out the way you want it to.
Even so, the film is not really about human suffering and has an undertone of jubilance as the characters gain wisdom after times of trouble pass.
Linklater has time and again proved to be a sort of non-conformist with his films. In just one scene change Mason and his family, along with the actors, have gotten suddenly older; in a stark reminder that time flies and a realisation that great directors don’t have to make bits of a film coalesce the way others do.
Boyhood has achieved the rare feat of having a 99 per cent rating from critics on rotten tomatoes, something Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar could not accomplish even with over 41 times Linklater’s budget of $ 4 million.
Boyhood is a one-of-a-kind movie that has been another milestone for its director, who has given people more reason to praise his filmography.