BOYHOOD (M)
★★★★
Capitol Manuka, Dendy
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It was a bold experiment. Writer-director Richard Linklater shot a film in increments over 12 years, charting the life of fictional character Mason from from childhood to young adulthood – played throughout by young Ellar Coltrane, whom we also see growing up before our eyes.
It's not the first time a filmmaker has dealt with the issue of a considerable amount of time passing, something that's not easy in movies. Francois Truffaut periodically revisited Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Leaud), introduced in The 400 Blows, over a couple of decades in a series of movies and Michael Apted's Up documentaries have gone on for half a century, to name two examples. But Linklater's film has its own appeal.
Plenty could have gone wrong (for example, what if Coltrane or one of the other main actors eventually wanted out?) but everyone persisted and the result is a film that's long, unpredictable, sometimes surprising in its focus, occasionally frustrating, but fascinating. Rather like life itself, it's not really about big moments, but the accumulation of small events and details that has its own rewards.
While the film is called Boyhood, it's not simply about one character, nor is it the nostalgic journey the title might suggest. When it starts, Mason (Coltrane) lives in Texas with his mother Olivia (Patricia Arquette) and more extroverted older sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater, the director's daughter). Mason Sr (Ethan Hawke) has left the family but returns from time spent in Alaska and is once again a periodic presence in his children's lives. Olivia finds life a bit of a struggle: the family moves around, she seeks help from her mother and when she returns to study in order to get a better job, she also picks up a new husband – and he won't be the last.
Meanwhile, Mason grows older and deals with life as it comes as well as trying to work out life – sometimes with the help of family and friends, sometimes on his own.
The passing of time is sometimes indicated by cultural references – elections, Harry Potter – as well as the changes in the characters' appearances. Like most of the film, it's handled in low-key and graceful fashion.
There are weaknesses: sometimes it seems we are deprived of interesting moments in favour of more trivial happenings, and people come and go rather abruptly at times. And Linklater giving his frequent collaborator Hawke licence to sing not one but two songs seems indulgent. But by the end of the nearly three-hour running time, there's a real sense of a shared adventure: a life that might seem ordinary but is remarkable nevertheless.