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Rating: 4.5/5
This film has been on my watchlist for a while, being on many critics’ ‘top films of the 2010s’ lists, and I finally watched it the other night.
The film is fascinating. I always thought the idea of filming every year for twelve years was crazy but really cool, and its cobbled-together nature is really part of its beauty.
The film really speaks to life in all its facets; it shows the highs, the lows, the averages. We see good family life, rubbish family life, great fathers, abusive fathers — everyone trying to grapple with life.
The relationship between Mason Sr. and Mason Jr. stands out as particularly beautiful, and in contrast to Mason Jr.’s abusive stepfathers. Mason Sr. really wants to know his kids, and doesn’t shy away from asking those difficult questions. As a result, he develops such a beautiful relationship with his children, especially his son. This is really prevalent in the camping trip scene, one of my favourite from the film.
The film also, though, shows the heartbreak of losing your siblings, and your “normal” family life, as they move away from abusive stepfathers. The film simultaneously portrays the uniqueness of the characters’ lives, yet also the commonality and averageness of their lives — as humans, we all crave the same thing, and we all experience many of the same things growing up. And the milestones, they fly so fast, and we sense the shortness of life — especially seen when Patricia Arquette’s character, the mother of Mason Jr., breaks down when he goes to college.
The soundtrack of the film is also part of its beauty; the songs are so delicately intertwined into the story, a mix of styles and ages, following the characters’ through their lives. I particularly loved Hawke’s character, Mason Sr., gifting his son “the Black Album” of the Beatles — the love of music truly a thread across the years.
The awe of creation is really seen too; in the road trips, the hikes, but also in these relationships. However, the depths of sin are also seen in the drink-filled husbands, and the hurt in the broken relationships. The messiness of life is portrayed so simply, and yet the beauty in the mess is seen too. The characters are all trying to make sense of life, and chasing fulfilment in many places.
I’m not an expert on film, but it was so well done you got lost in the story. A janky, seemingly real story. These people, felt like people. You can see yourself in them; they seem so real and relatable. The actors truly give a performance of a lifetime; the film was shot over so much of their lives. Hawke, Arquette, Coltrane, Linklater, and a host of great supporting actors make this film even better.
Linklater crafts an incredible story, but one that is, in truth, the story of one ordinary family, one ordinary boy, growing up. There are many other things you can say — the sadness of divorce and a broken home; the abusive stepfathers — but it is like Linklater just pointed his camera, truly, for 12 years at a real family, and that, I think, is why Boyhood is such a great film.