From Coldplay to The Arcade Fire: "Boyhood"

Much has been written and much has been praised about Richard Linklater's epic new film "Boyhood."  Epic is an understatement - the movie took twelve years to film, using the same actors for a few days each year.  No other narrative feature has ever done this - cinematically chronicling the coming of age of children, and the metaphysical growth of parents.  It was a tremendous risk, and amazingly it worked.  Still, the question arises if it's just a gimmick, or actually a good movie?

"Boyhood" follows Mason from age 6 to age 18, from elementary school to college, from one parent's bad advice to another.  We see him move from town to town, as his divorced mother (Patricia Arquette) remarries, divorces, and remarries again.  Every so often his boyhood-ish father (Ethan Hawke) shows up in the same shirt and vintage Pontiac to whisk him away and offer half-assed wisdom.  Mason makes friends, meets girls, and discovers a passion for photography.  He watches events pass, such as the Battle of Fallujah or the election of Barack Obama.  He even sees Roger Clemens pitch.

Mason grows, starts driving, works a crappy job, and gets dumped.  Most of the events in his life are quiet, everyday moments.  And that's the beauty of "Boyhood" - the movie takes it's time and shows life.  One boy's world from one time and place.  It's a joy to watch Mason grow, and it's a brilliant stroke of luck that writer-director Richard Linklater found the young actor Ellar Coltrane.  He turns out to be an inspired choice, from cute young kid to compelling young man.

Even though I knew what was coming I was still amazed.  Kids grow up so fast, right?  Yet here it was front and center in a movie.  In one scene Mason is a scrappy child with a high voice, and in the next he's shot up several inches and his voice has deepened.  Pretty soon he's got a scruffy chin and girlfriend problems.

The soundtrack is a highlight, as each transition in Mason's life includes authentic period music.  The movie opens with Coldplay's "Yellow" (released in 2000), and ends with The Arcade Fire's "Deep Blue" (released in 2010).  Both are melancholy songs about time and change and remembrance. 

"Boyhood" is not a documentary.  It's a narrative work of fiction.  Yet it is missing the drama.  Mason lives a relatively trouble-free life, never forced to shed too many tears.  In trying to be realistic, Mr. Linklater makes the story too middle-of-the-road.  At one point, Mason's father takes him bowling and Mason complains about not being able to use the bumpers.  Dad warns him that life is tough and doesn't come with bumpers.  It alludes to a moment that never happens.  Mason's problems are more simplistic than just first-world dilemmas - they seem almost privileged.  Actual boyhood is full of scraped knees and head-on collisions.  Failures and frustrations.  It's what makes children ready for manhood.  If Mason experienced this, we as the audience don't get to see it.

And that brings me to another thing missing from "Boyhood" - more boyhood.  Pretend magic through an innocent's eyes.  And mischief.  Rule pushing, curiosity, and rebellion.  I didn't see much of that in the movie either.  Aside from a great scene where Mason asks his father about the existence of elves, Mason doesn't imagine or even play much.  Most of his reactions are responses to things happening to adults.  Without being too sentimental, I would have liked to have seen more of the boy's unique childhood imagination.

The movie (or the editing) seems to underline the passage of time.  Rather than drawing you into the story, this has the opposite effect by focusing attention on the filmmaking.  This is where the twelve year shooting plan becomes a gimmick.  Scenes are deliberately set at specific moments that show where in the past we are.  This includes a Harry Potter book release party, various references to presidential elections, and a cute Britney Spears imitation. 

Near the end, Mason asks his dad what the point of it all is.  His father laughs and rattles off a few thoughts, but he knows as much and as little as Mason.  As we all do.  It's the essence of boyhood.  

"Boyhood" is a very good, yet flawed movie that is definitely worth seeing.  It's a film that will make you think and remember, and quite possibly change your life.  Or maybe it's just a movie and it will be over in an instant.