I put off writing this blog, thinking I was going to watch the film for a second time, but alas my best movie friend has been occupied as of late, so here it goes:
Boyhood was an oxymoron of a film, and this comes from a fanatic of the Before Midnight, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset trilogy, so much so I was depressed each time those movies ended.
Boyhood is another matter. It is both profound and mundane; exactly why it captures life on film. As promised on one of my pages, I don’t want to talk too much about the plot, but will mention who will probably relate most if you:
*were raised by an alcoholic
*dealt with divorce (either as an adult or child)
*wanted a career in art despite a society that would rather honor finance and athletics
*changed high schools and found difficulty in the transition
*people who repeat relationship patterns
I was not sad when the film ended, which doesn’t mean it wasn’t good, but at three hours plus, it’s time to stand up and stretch. I love, love, love Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette as well as the two ‘child’ actors, the female of whom is Linklater’s real life daughter and of course, Ellar Coltrane, the boy who is the movie’s anchor.
To see it with my 21 year old son was an immense blessing and his growing up certainly seems to have whipped by in less than three hours. If you have kids, cherish them! They’ll be adults too soon!
POST SCRIPT: On a blog advertisement display, I said I had a comparison with Paul George and Richard Linklater. Full confession: I’ve been known to be the Yogi Berra of comparisons, but the night Paul George was injured playing on the USA basketball team, the gravity of the ESPN coverage was akin to a fatal plane crash. Is it horrible that one of the best NBA players broke his leg in a freak accident? YES! Is it wildly difficult to make a movie over 12 years with the same 4 main actors? YES!
Have other athletes injured themselves and come back? Yes!
Have other directors’ films been overhyped to the point that when you actually see the real deal, it could never live up to said hype? YES!
I rest my case.
