On New Cinema in Boyhood

The hyperbole around some films is pure marketing, but in the case of Boyhood, the claim it makes – being unlike other pieces of cinema – may in fact be true. Although, avoiding the C work is always good practice (classic). That takes time.

However, Boyhood is a remarkable achievement. Filmed over twelve years, around a week a year, with the same cast is unlike anything attempted before. For the actors to be able to come in and out of their characters for such a long period astonishes, for director and writer Richard Linklater to piece together a coherent narrative, while at the same time making other features such as School of Rock (2003), Bernie (2011) and Before Midnight (2013) speaks of inimitability as a director. For what must have been 100s of hours of footage, editor Sandra Adair has pieced together a story of growing up that never feels rushed.

It is this sense of completeness that has surely led to the almost perfect reviews. Regardless of age, gender or status (parent, child, teenager) there is an element of Boyhood that is relatable and leads to an inescapable smile, permanently fixed to your face as you watch Mason’s life unfold. This is a life played out in as realistic a manner as possible. Big life moments or self-realisations are brushed aside as we move to the next moment, highlighting the ephemeral nature of life, especially when viewed through the eyes of a child or teenager. Mason’s mother, as he is leaving for college, laments that this is the penultimate great moment of her life. The next is her funeral. In typical teenager style Mason cannot respond and Linklater cuts to Mason at college; his mother’s issues left disregarded. In this way, Boyhood shares commonalities with Margaret (2011), also told through the self-centred perspective of a teenager. 

Linklater employs the unobtrusive camera work that makes his Before trilogy so believable. The camera remains still, always watching, allowing the actors the room to ‘be’, in a very thespian sense, but in a film like Boyhood and the Before films, essential. And here, Linklater’s adult actors, Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke, shine. The child actors are harder to assess. It may in fact be that they are fantastic, as they are, especially when young, not acting. There are some fantastic moments of pure joy where the young Mason is teased or is teasing his sister. Boyhood is new cinema, but there is no trend here to catch on. Linklater’s achievement here is exceptional, perhaps not one of a kind, but don’t expect another twelve-year commitment to come along for a while.