The Movie: 'Boyhood'

We saw Richard Linklater's  movie 'Boyhood' Saturday afternoon.  Linklater and the key members of his cast and crew made the film over a span of 12 years.  While the boy, Mason, Jr., (played by Ellar Coltrane) at its center ages from 6 to 18, his mother, Olivia (Patricia Arquette), father, Mason, Sr., (Ethan Hawke) and older sister, Samantha, (Lorelei Linklater) also age 12 years.

Official poster for 'Boyhood'.

From listening to Linklater in interviews, he created the script each year just before the cast assembled to shoot the next installment.  Yet, somehow, the movie appears seamless, not a collection of yearly episodes.

The story opens when Mason, Jr.'s parents are already divorced and Mason, Sr. is living in Alaska.  After a messy break-up with a boyfriend, Olivia moves to Houston with the two children to be near their grandmother.  Having convenient child care allows Olivia to return to college for her degree in Psychology.  For someone who is studying and eventually teaching the science of human behavior, Olivia seems to make nothing but poor choices in her own life.

The real story here is how the adults constantly fail to meet the needs and aspirations of their children, while the children have enough innocence and resilience to overcome the failures of their parents.

The acting is amazingly natural from all four principals and a large, shifting supporting cast.  Ethan Hawke stands out as the nonchalant, drop-in birth father.  Patricia Arquette is wonderful as the ever present mother -- always looking for the Mr. Right who will solve all of her problems and waking up to find another Mr. Wrong making them worse.  While the film is titled 'Boyhood', Lorelei Linklater makes the often sullen, observant older sister a multifaceted major character.  Ellar Coltrane carries the arc of the movie from innocent six-year-old to awkward high-school graduate and hopeful college freshman, catching the nuances of growing up in the fast moving, early 21st century.

This movie isn't for everyone -- it's long (163 minutes), it's pacing is occasionally erratic, it's characters are hard to identify with -- but for me it's the most exciting cinema so far this year.  At this point, Richard Linklater must be on everyone's short list for a best director nomination.