Director: Richard Linklater Writer: Richard Linklater Cinematographer: Lee Daniel and Shane Kelly Producer: Richard Linklater, Cathleen Sutherland, Jonathan Sehring, and John Sloss by Jon Cvack Check out the first thoughts on Boyhood from January 4, 2016. There are many movies that use iconic songs that elicit a heavy dose of nostalgia - Stand by Me ('86), Now and Then ('95), Dirty Dancing ('87), My Girl ('91); essentially any coming of age story having taken place in the 1950s has that one track that elevates the story and impacts the culture. Yet while most of those films I watched as a kid, Boyhood was my first encounter with a coming of age story as an adult, portraying the era in which I grew up; realizing that for how fresh the film's opening song of Coldplay's “Yellow” feels in my memory, the song was released close to sixteen years ago, demonstrating how fast time moves, in which the period seems both close and distant, as with most of the things that’ve transpired since. For a three hour film, I was absolutely blown away by how quickly the story plays out, though I suppose it’s due to the ten different individual segments, creating an anticipation for what Mason Evans (Ellar Coltrane) will experience next. There would be best friends who come and go and fights with parents and first loves and subsequent heartbreaks and those first drinks and drug experimentsd. We watch as Mason encounters each problem, often assessing it all wrong and taking away the wrong lesson, all while his parents are doing the same. It’s a movie that allowed me to go back and re-experience all of my own ups and downs while growing up, with an amazing cast that brings such profound flavor to moments that seemed so banal or fleeting when first remembered. It allowed me to reconsider how certain events have affected latter ones, and that the small moments that seemed so large then and I laugh about now actually were strong and powerful and in no way insignificant, allowing me to no longer cringe at their memory, but instead embrace them as real and universal, serving as rite of passage. In the end, during one of the most powerful scenes between Mason and his mom Olivia (Patricia Arquette) we discover her adult view of life. Nothing goes as expected and the frustration is neverending. Just when things seem to calm a new event occurs. As Linklater explores, the challenges we all face in adulthood become increasingly more serious and consequential, and it’s only by pushing through the pains of adolescence that we could ever possibly be prepared for those later in life. Boyhood celebrates where one is at in any particular moment, no matter the age. The mom can’t find the right husband, or she’s a moment too late. The dad gives up on his dreams while his friend continues and reaches some success. Boyhood takes a look at those small moments that assemble and evolve us into becoming what we are. We cannot escape our choices or the way we respond to certain situations anymore than we control the actions of others and how we're impacted by them. I look at all the chapters in my life, the past year, the past eight years, and I consider how they’ve all affected me; realizing that aside from the spectrum of events - from heartbreaks to deaths to professional and personal frustrations - that the only consistent piece is the feeling they’ve all provided. Whether something goes well or terrible, the response is the same, except with a little more knowledge that time will heal, or that the sheer ecstasy of good news or a good day cannot last forever. Everything passes and all we’re left with are the memories of those moments, which Linklater has shown to be some of the most precious of human experience. BELOW: Not a perfect drunk step-father, but pretty dang close Like what you read? Support the site on Patreon Please report any spelling, grammar, or factual errors or corrections on the contact page
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