Cinema has the potential to be a limitless art form. The only bounds filmmakers have in bringing a vision to life is time and dedication, with time being perhaps the most binding condition. A story might unfold over a number of years, or even decades, but if the filmmaker only has a few short months to shoot, then he/she must find ways around this constraint, such as elaborate makeup or different casting for the same character at different ages. Real time is one of the few things cinema cannot accurately convey.
However, for every challenge in art, someone comes along to further push the boundaries of what’s possible. Richard Linklater is one of those auteurs. Linklater previously experimented with cinematic time frame in his Before trilogy, illustrating the lives of two people in love with each film separated by nine years. Linklater is a pioneer in actualizing real time in his films, but he has taken that achievement even further with his latest release, Boyhood.
Linklater’s odyssey was filmed over a period of twelve years, and chronicles the life of Mason (Ellar Coltrane) from age 6 to 18. In the span of just under three hours, viewers can experience the most crucial developmental period of a child’s life as he makes his way from elementary school to his freshman year in college. Along the way we also see the journeys of his older sister and divorced parents, and every character is played by the same actor throughout the twelve year production.
There has never been any cinematic experience quite like Boyhood. Life is full of dramatic circumstances, especially when growing up in a broken home, but no situation in the film feels contrived. Each plot point feels just as real as Mason’s change from a baby-faced child to a scruffy-bearded adolescent. From watching Dragonball Z as a kid to his first serious relationship as a young adult, no stone is left unturned in this poignant exploration of youth.
Linklater took on a major risk by initiating this project. Twelve years to film one movie must be a logistical nightmare. The actors all aged along with their characters; their own ‘real’ lives were unfolding during the project. The number of challenges that could come along during this undertaking are insurmountable, but Linklater and his stellar cast all faced the endeavor head on and came out with a true work of art.
Boyhood is an undeniable masterpiece. Decades from now critics and cinephiles will look back on this film and recognize it as a generational identifier; something that will go on to define the way future contemporaries look back on this era and the personalities produced in the Millennial generation. A new watermark for the potential of cinema has been set.
-Alex Falls
