PopEntertainment.com

It's all the entertainment you need!

 

FEATURE STORIES MOVIE REVIEWS MUSIC REVIEWS BOX SET REVIEWS TV SHOWS ON DVD CONTESTS CONCERT PHOTOS

 

  FEATURE STORIES
  INTERVIEWS A TO E
  INTERVIEWS F TO J
  INTERVIEWS K TO O
  INTERVIEWS P TO T
  INTERVIEWS U TO Z
  INTERVIEWS ACTORS
  INTERVIEWS ACTRESSES
  INTERVIEWS BOOKS
  INTERVIEWS DIRECTORS AND SCREENWRITERS
  INTERVIEWS MUSIC
  INTERVIEWS OSCAR NOMINEES
  INTERVIEWS THEATER
  IN MEMORIAM
  REVIEWS
  MOVIE REVIEWS
  MUSIC REVIEWS
  CONCERT REVIEWS
  BOX SET REPORT CARD
  TV SHOWS ON DVD
  MISCELLANEOUS STUFF & NONSENSE
  CONCERT PHOTOGRAPHY
  LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
  CONTESTS
  LINKS
  MASTHEAD
  EMAIL US

"WILD YEARS-THE MUSIC & MYTH OF TOM WAITS" BY Jay S. Jacobs

AVAILABLE IN BOOK STORES EVERYWHERE!

 

PopEntertainment.com > Reviews > Movie Reviews > Boyhood

MOVIE REVIEWS

BOYHOOD (2014)

Starring Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Ellar Coltrane, Lorelei Linklater, Jenni Tooley, Zoe Graham, Marco Perella, Brad Hawkins, Charlie Sexton, Tom McTigue, Richard Robichaux, Evie Thompson, Jamie Howard, Andrew Villarreal, Richard Jones, Karen Jones, Libby Villari, Jessi Mechler, Steven Prince, Elijah Smith, Cambell Westmoreland, Tamara Jolaine, Barbara Chisholm, Cassidy Johnson, Jennifer Griffin, Jordan Howard, Nick Krause, Angela Rawna, Roland Ruiz, Bill Wise, Maximillian McNamara and Taylor Weaver.

Screenplay by Richard Linklater

Directed by Richard Linklater

Distributed by IFC Films. 164 minutes. Rated R.

Fare Buzz

Berrylook

Cheap Flights Airfare Deals. Book now and get up to $15 off* with coupon code: SFCHEAP15

Boyhood

Together Richard Linklater and star Ethan Hawke have put together one of the most profound examples of cinematic anthropology – the Before Sunset series of films, in which a couple is revisited every nine years in a 20-year (so far...) stretch to see how two lives have changed over the passing of time.

Boyhood can't exactly be said to have eclipsed that series, just because those three films are so amazingly good that very little could hope to surpass them.  However, with Boyhood, Linklater has created a vision of time passage and real life that is every bit as powerful.  And, once again, Hawke is along for the ride.

Boyhood was filmed over a period of 39 days, but those 39 days were spread out over a period of 12 years.  Every year the cast and crew would get together for three or four days to film a bit of the life of a young Texas boy Mason (Ellar Coltrane), his sister Samantha (the director's daughter, Lorelei Linklater) and his estranged parents Olivia and Mason, Sr. (Patricia Arquette and Hawke).

Therefore, in a technique that is both awe-inspiring and often shocking, we are able to watch a young boy age from first grade to his freshman year of college in the period of just under three hours.  It's like an odd time-lapsed photography (or looking through other people's photo albums) as we see the little boy lose his cute toe-headed good looks and morph into a slightly morose but sensitive young man.

Not insanely much happens in Boyhood from a plot standpoint.  Just the basics: school, first love, parents, divorces, marriage, moves, experimentation, babies, video games, new cars, new friends, new Harry Potter books, leaving things behind, camping, bowling, successes, mistakes, leaving the nest.  You know, just life itself.

Actually, the film may be slightly mistitled as Boyhood.  Perhaps Childhood would be more apt.  For at least the first half of the film, Mason's precociously cute sister Samantha probably gets more screen time than her introspective little brother.  It's only when the situations of her life cause her to blossom into a shy, slightly-guarded teen that Mason's story starts to take over and she fades a bit into the background.

None of this would work, of course, if we just had some Hollywood kid actor emoting for the camera.  Coltrane is just a normal Texas kid playing a normal Texas kid, without any pretension or precociousness.  Luckily he turned out to be a pretty natural film presence, or the film would never have worked.  Lorelei Linklater is also a fine talent.  She tries a bit too hard as a little girl (including doing an entire hammy performance of Britney Spears' "Oops! I Did It Again!"), but she grows into a quiet and profound actress.

Hawke has always done his best work with director Linklater (they have done eight films together  at this point, including all three Before Sunrise films) and once again his favorite director brings out the finest in Hawke.  His character of Mason Sr. grows astoundingly over the period of 12 years, from rootless and responsibility-free musician to dedicated family man.

Thankfully, Boyhood does not take the easy road of making Mason, Sr. a deadbeat dad.  He is just a lost artistic soul who takes a little longer to grow up.  And even at the worst of times, he is always there for his children, and even to a certain extent for his ex-wife.

Speaking of the ex-wife, of all of the wonderful acting on display here, the standout is Patricia Arquette as the mother.  Arquette's acting profile has dimmed as she has gotten older, and frankly she's been mostly missing in action since her TV series Medium was canceled a few years ago.  However, this stunning, layered performance is a reminder of just how much she is missed.  Olivia is imperfect, she is sometimes distant and she turns out to have terrible taste in men, but she is a passionate and loving mother.

If the scene where Olivia breaks down as her son is leaving for college doesn't wrench your heart, you really have none.  "I just thought there would be more," she rues, tears streaming, and every person in the audience can't help but nod in recognition.  Arquette's performance is Oscar-worthy, and I hope this film is not forgotten by the time the ballots for Best Supporting Actress are cast. 

That statement is not just for Arquette, either.  Boyhood is arguably the finest film of the year, and it will be a crime if it is ignored come Academy Awards time.

Jay S. Jacobs

Copyright ©2014 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: August 24, 2014.

Bookbaby.com helping independents – whether authors, publishers, musicians, filmmakers, or small businesses – bring their creative efforts to the marketplace.

Shop TimeLife.com Today!

Shop Now!

Bookbaby.com helping independents – whether authors, publishers, musicians, filmmakers, or small businesses – bring their creative efforts to the marketplace.

Shop New iPhone SE Cases

Shop TimeLife.com Today!

RETURN TO MOVIE REVIEWS MENU

Oxygen Plus - Pure Recreational Oxygen

ODYN - For the professional results you need

Copyright ©2014 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: August 24, 2014.

728X90

Castaway Shirt