Boyhood Review

Hello :-)

I missed Boyhood in cinemas last July but with it’s raft of award nominations it’s back in cinemas riding a wave of publicity. I decided to see what all the fuss was about.

Boyhood documents the life of Mason Evans Jr between the ages of six and eighteen. That’s it, that’s literally it.

Obviously summing this film up in one sentence does it a massive disservice because whilst the premise is painfully simple the execution is superb. It’s a beautiful exploration of youth in America during the ‘noughties’ and a broader look at the ebb and flow of time.

It’s well documented that the fact this film exists is remarkable. The idea that something would be filmed over 12 years with the same cast opens this enterprise up to so much uncertainty. With a studio system that favours safe bets and calculated risks it’s nothing short of a miracle that Boyhood got made at all.

So much of traditional modern cinema relies on narrative and characters arcs it’s easy to see why some might find it hard to connect with Boyhood. There’s no huge conflict in the film, no overarching villain and no great epiphany, just a maturity and warmth that unfolds across the 2 hour 45 minute run time. Linklater abandons the traditional methods of story telling, even more so than in his Before trilogy, instead favouring an approach of realism and truth.

The approach to scripting is something else that helps give Boyhood this air of honesty. Still written in his breezy conversational style, Linklater outlined the story at the beginning of production but during the process of filming, gave the cast and crew the opportunity to contribute their experiences. This helps create a series of events that feels believable but still engaging. A particular favourite is the conversation Mason and his Dad have about elves. It’s adorable and rings totally true with the way children question the world around them.

The focus of each year could so easily have been social milestones (Birthdays, Christmases, etc) but instead Linklater opts for more subtle and ultimately truthful ways to show the passage of time. Think back on your childhood and you don’t remember great swathes of detail, events tend to morph together but odd moments you can recall with great clarity. Specific gigs, days at your first job, evenings mucking about with your friends, each moment blending with the ones either side of it. There’s a reference to Kurt Vonnegut in the film which is has got to be intentional because it fits so perfectly with the tone of the film. When you look back at Boyhood once it’s finished there is a sense of everything happening all at once, like the way the Tralfamadorians see the world in the novel Slaughterhouse 5.

Patricia Arquette does a sterling job as Olivia, Mason’s Mother (simply credited as ‘Mom’). This film could have been called ‘Parenthood’ because for a large part of it, it’s about how Mason interacts with her and reacts to her string of ill-chosen relationships. Arquette is utterly heart-breaking throughout; you’ll come out of Boyhood wanting to give her a hug.

Frequent Linklater collaborator Ethan Hawke plays Mason Sr. Initially a less steady influence than Olivia, Mason Sr could so easily have been a source of ‘Daddy Issues’ for Mason Jr but Linklater goes for a more nuanced approach to paternity. Mason Sr matures as much as his junior counterpart delivering an interesting insight into our parents and how they change as a result of parenthood.

Ellar Coltrane is a great anchor for the film. From his introduction as a cherubic 6 year old he proves eminently watchable. Mason does become more complicated and potentially unlikable as the film goes on but I’d argue that his likability doesn’t matter and that what the film is really about is how he becomes that version of himself. Incidentally I did like him. By the time he’s 16 he’s the kind of introspective, pseudointellectual, borderline conspiracy theorist that I used to fall madly in love with at that age and seeing that just added to the huge hit of nostalgia this film provides.

I don’t think Boyhood is perfect. It’s about 10 minutes too long and one minor plot point comes back at the end of the film in a rather clunky, albeit effective, way. But as ever, I’m willing to forgive these kinds of minor indiscretions for something like Boyhood that aspires to be more than the usual Hollywood fare.

Ultimately the beauty of Boyhood is that you can read it in so many different ways. You can see it as a young adult looking back on their childhood or as a time capsule documenting those 12 years through the filter of a childhood in the American South or you could even view it as a parent, reflecting on how quickly your children grow up.

I’m sorry if this review comes off as pretentious waffle, the film definitely isn’t high falutin it’s just highly unconventional. If you didn’t like the free flow of the Before trilogy you might get equally annoyed with Boyhood, but if you’re able to go with it, this film will reward you with an experience that you’ve never had before and are unlikely to have again

Boyhood is the event of youth the way that youth remembers it. With a lightness of touch and an acute sense of humanity Linklater invites us to witness, recall and reflect on the process of growing up in all its sublime subtlety.

Boyhood is back in cinemas for awards season and is also available to buy on DVD, Blu Ray and download.

Also, if you fancy reading my review of another awards contender, Whiplash, it’s over at the awesome Den of Geek where I’ll occasionally be cropping up in the future :-)

That’s all for today!

Goodbye till next time :-)

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