Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Boyhood

People kept being surprised that I hadn't seen Richard Linklater's Boyhood, but last week I finally saw it, at a nighttime show crowded with 20-somethings. This coming-of-age story for the Millennial Generation was famously filmed over a period of 12 years with the same cast. We get to watch the actor portraying its soulful main character grow from a 6-year-old boy to a college freshman. The concept & the logistics of production probably made a bigger impression on me than the actual story, which has moments that look genuinely spontaneous as well as scenes that feel pat. The movie does a good job tracking its post-9/11 time period through references to computer products, songs & the political climate. It's remarkably coherent & consistent-looking, despite requiring scenes shot years apart. The film's generally low-key mood makes it possible to sit through its nearly 3-hour length comfortably, though it's so emotionally gentle that the audience I sat with almost seemed disappointed when no one got hurt in a scene where unsupervised teenage boys play recklessly with a buzz saw blade while drinking.

§ Boyhood (2014)
dir. Richard Linklater, USA, 165 mins.

3 comments:

Civic Center said...

Of course you identified more with the parents. We're old, dude.

Axel Feldheim said...

Why thank you for pointing that out.

Civic Center said...

That thank you did not sound sincere.