The hardest part of artistic creation is turning an idea into a transcendent reality. Any idiot can have a powerful idea for a screenplay or a novel, but it takes a special kind of dedication, a technical mastery and a craftsman's passion to create unforgettable art. Richard Linklater's BOYHOOD has been filmed over the course of twelve years, where a young actor grew up playing the same character, little by little every year. So does the insane scope of this movie enough to make it unforgettable art. No. It's a good movie, deceitfully complex and deep, but it's not a ''moving epic'' as the poster claim. BOYHOOD is an achievement for its nature, but not exactly for its content.
BOYHOOD is the detailed story of Mason (Ellar Coltrane)'s childhood from age 5 to 18. There is no real story arc to it, but the highlights include: the tormented, sometimes downright disturbing emotional life of his mother (Patricia Arquette), the budding relationship to his father (Ethan Hawke), the discovery of art and love, his emancipation from the intellectual shackles of the school system and several other life-affirming milestones in the life of a young boy. I'm sure it sounds fascinating on paper, but remember what I said earlier: turning powerful ideas into unforgettable arts is not easy and while I can only applaud the ambition of Richard Linklater, but BOYHOOD is one gigantic, slow-moving tanker on a calm sea. It's impressive and at the same time, it's doesn't feel worth writing home about.
The buzz in Hollywood wants that BOYHOOD is the favourite for the Academy Award for Best Picture. I can believe that. It's a long, thoughtful and accessible movie that's both light on surprises and clichés of the genre. It felt like something halfway between a Jonathan Franzen novel and a three hours long episode of THE WONDER YEARS. The fact that a movie like BOYHOOD exists is impressive enough, for I can't imagine the work, the discipline and the sheer artistic drive it took just to complete the shooting. It's not an emotional powerhouse by any means, but it's an emotional movie by Richard Linklater's standards, who's a cerebral, yet slightly nostalgic author. My point is, BOYHOOD is pleasant enough, but writing-wise, it's not ahead of the pack by any means.
BOYHOOD is the detailed story of Mason (Ellar Coltrane)'s childhood from age 5 to 18. There is no real story arc to it, but the highlights include: the tormented, sometimes downright disturbing emotional life of his mother (Patricia Arquette), the budding relationship to his father (Ethan Hawke), the discovery of art and love, his emancipation from the intellectual shackles of the school system and several other life-affirming milestones in the life of a young boy. I'm sure it sounds fascinating on paper, but remember what I said earlier: turning powerful ideas into unforgettable arts is not easy and while I can only applaud the ambition of Richard Linklater, but BOYHOOD is one gigantic, slow-moving tanker on a calm sea. It's impressive and at the same time, it's doesn't feel worth writing home about.
The buzz in Hollywood wants that BOYHOOD is the favourite for the Academy Award for Best Picture. I can believe that. It's a long, thoughtful and accessible movie that's both light on surprises and clichés of the genre. It felt like something halfway between a Jonathan Franzen novel and a three hours long episode of THE WONDER YEARS. The fact that a movie like BOYHOOD exists is impressive enough, for I can't imagine the work, the discipline and the sheer artistic drive it took just to complete the shooting. It's not an emotional powerhouse by any means, but it's an emotional movie by Richard Linklater's standards, who's a cerebral, yet slightly nostalgic author. My point is, BOYHOOD is pleasant enough, but writing-wise, it's not ahead of the pack by any means.
In Texas, even the artsy types drive pickup trucks with hot women riding shotgun.
I'm not sure where BOYHOOD took the wrong exist for me. I think it's figuring out that Richard Linklater's intricate screenplay bent itself backwards to say the same platitudes that other mainstream movies of the acumen usually say, that did me in: learn to be yourself and the world will open up to you. You'll get a hot girlfriend, a scholarship and interesting people will flock in your life like hippie at a music festival. I've never got the impression that Mason was much more than a bystander in his life, an observer in the tradition of Fitzgerald's Nick Caraway, but Richard Linklater obviously loved the kid a lot more than I did and spent a lot of energy trying to give him the most amazing life for a basic bitch. Except for the drunken stepfather scenes, I don't remember one fucked up thing Mason witnesses in 13 years. Everything is so life-affirming and beautiful, even when it's sad.
I guess I was expecting BOYHOOD to pack more of a punch? It's not all that different from other Richard Linklater movies, except that it's longer and more accessible. It's his major label produced double-album, if I can borrow the mid-90s music metaphor (I'm sure Linklater would allow me to). I know my review is tough of BOYHOOD, but it's not a bad movie. I was just disappointed that a talented and creative director such as Richard Linklater would let self-indulgence drift in the way of one of his movies. It's an interesting background movie that might help you stimulate the muse when you're trying to write or just folding laundry, but my breath was not taken away. Maybe my expectations were too high. I'm always expecting a lot from the movie rumoured to be favourite for the biggest award in the movie business, especially when it's been made by a director I like.
I guess I was expecting BOYHOOD to pack more of a punch? It's not all that different from other Richard Linklater movies, except that it's longer and more accessible. It's his major label produced double-album, if I can borrow the mid-90s music metaphor (I'm sure Linklater would allow me to). I know my review is tough of BOYHOOD, but it's not a bad movie. I was just disappointed that a talented and creative director such as Richard Linklater would let self-indulgence drift in the way of one of his movies. It's an interesting background movie that might help you stimulate the muse when you're trying to write or just folding laundry, but my breath was not taken away. Maybe my expectations were too high. I'm always expecting a lot from the movie rumoured to be favourite for the biggest award in the movie business, especially when it's been made by a director I like.