Director: Richard Linklater.

Screenplay: Richard Linklater.

Starring: Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Lorelei Linklater, Libby Villari, Marco Perella, Steven Chester Prince, Charlie Sexton, Jamie Howard, Andrew Villarreal, Tom McTigue, Richard Robichaux.

“You know how everyone’s always saying seize the moment? I don’t know, I’m kind of thinking it’s the other way around, you know, like the moment seizes us”

For me, an overriding question often hangs over the work of Richard Linklater which is; how long will this fantastic director go on without awards recognition? He’s, quite simply, one of the truly great American filmmakers. His ideas are always highly original and the execution of them nothing short of pure brilliance. From his debut Slacker to the recent completion of his Before trilogy, Linklater has always shown the skill to match his hugely ambitious projects and after filming over a 12 year period, Boyhood may just be the most impressive feat he has ever undertaken. I wouldn’t be surprised if at least a nomination comes his way now.

Beginning in 2002, we follow the lives of a Texan family: Single mother Olivia (Patricia Arquette) has been left with her two children, 6-year-old son Mason Evans, Jr. (Ellar Coltrane) and his older sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater) while their estranged father Mason Sr, (Ethan Hawke) is somewhere in Alaska “finding” himself. Over 12 years, we witness how their relationship grows with one another as Mason reaches 18-years and eventually leaves for college where he embarks on his own adult journey.

So as not to be confused with the recent release of 12 Years a Slave, Linklater changed his original title 12 Years to Boyhood. However, there is so much scope here that it isn’t always just about the boy. It’s about his immediate family as well. Sure Mason Jr is primarily the focus but his sister, mother and estranged father get as much development and attention as he does, leaving 12 Years a more apt title as the focus on all these people and their relationships bring a real depth and expanse to the story. It’s a marvellous achievement from Linklater and one that takes constant reminders from yourself to appreciate that what you’re witnessing is, in fact, unlike anything you might have seen before. It isn’t just this lengthy endeavour that impresses, though. Thankfully, Linklater’s script is very sharp in shaping this family. He brings each of the four characters to life and, more importantly, believability. There’s a chance that it could have came across as pretentious or simply that Linkater couldn’t manage to realise his ambitions due to the very high commitment required. To film the same actors over a 12 year period couldn’t have been easy but Linklater makes it look so and he’s served wonderfully by a first rate cast. Taking a gamble on young Ellar Contrane really pays off as this young man maintains his acting chops throughout the duration and matures into an excellent performer (as well as uncannily resembling his onscreen father). Linklater’s daughter Lorelei also delivers some fine work and both Arquette and, especially, Hawke are outstanding as the flawed but loving parents.

What’s unmistakable is that there’s no doubt that it’s a Richard Linklater film. It channels the same themes that have been recurrent throughout his career: As a coming-of-age drama it’s reminiscent of Dazed and Confused; With the progression into adulthood it resembles SubUrbia or Tape; From the adults perspective and their relationship issues it’s on the same path as the Before trilogy and all the while it questions life itself leading it philosophically into Waking Life territory. The film is dense with characterisation and reflects accurately what we have all faced at one point or other in our own journey’s and that’s where Linkater deserves the most praise. The passage of time and perspective is consummated through laughter, tears, changing fashions and an excellent use of music but it’s Linkater’s insight into human relations and our different stages of development that impresses most as he fully manages to capture that the only constant thing in life is… change.

Simply put, this is a highly observant near masterpiece. To achieve such a accomplishment without the use of prosthetics requires the utmost commitment and that’s exactly what we get from the entire cast and crew. It’s a tour-de-force that achieves such a sense of realism and reflection that’s it hard not to compare your own experiences to it. Sometimes a film can be described as a “slice-of-life” but this isn’t so much a slice as a whole chunk.

Mark Walker

Trivia: As it is illegal in the U.S. to sign contracts lasting longer than 7 years, nobody could sign a contract for their 12-year commitment and had Richard Linklater died during the 12-year shoot, Ethan Hawke would have taken over the directorial duties.