Boyhood

Richard Linklater has always been interested in the passage of time, a subject that was dealt with in Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight, and that is developed brilliantly in Boyhood. In his latest film, Linklater shows 12 years in the life of one family. We see the main character, Mason (Ellar Coltrane); his sister, played by the director’s daughter, Lorelei; and their divorced parents (Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke). The film was made over 39 days spanning the course of 12 years, with the same adolescent children aging before our very eyes. Boyhood is unique in the history of American cinema: it contradicts the typical "magic of film," manages without makeup tricks, and defines anew the boundary between documentary and fiction. The narrative contains a fascinating family drama; it is a film about a painful coming-of-age, full of nostalgia for the irretrievably lost period of boyhood. It also confirms Linklater’s mastery when it comes to telling stories about ordinary people and their day-to-day affairs, solidifying his position as one of the most important independent American directors.

Urszula Śniegowska