Boyhood (2014) Epic Achievement that Somehow lacks a Definitive Direction (Review)

I think Boyhood will go down in my viewing history as one of these films that I appreciate more than I actually like. While it is ultimately a straightforward coming-of-age film, it is certainly ambitious, as sporadically filming a group of actors over the course of twelve years and making much of the story up as you go along could lead to catastrophically messy results. Director Richard Linklater was clearly aware of the risks of such a film and had the basic plot points including the film’s final shot planned out from the start, but it’s still impressive that a film with a gestation period as long as this turned out even halfway decent. 

Chronicling the life of a young boy named Mason from first grade up to his leaving for college, Boyhood started filming way back in 2002, and the best thing about having a film production like this is it’s much easier to fully capture the times in which it was made. We’ve seen with a lot of recent media set in the 1980s that the image it presents of that decade is much more based on aesthetics than it is in reality. Events such as 9/11 and the Iraq War don’t play a part in the film’s story, but the brief scenes where Ethan Hawke’s Mason Sr. discusses the mistakes made by the Bush administration, or when he takes his children out to put up Obama/Biden banners, are vital in showing how Mason and his older sister are growing up in a world that is ugly and far from perfect. 

In a really profound scene, Mason asks his father if there is really any magic in the world. It’s very early on in the film, coming even before he experiences verbal and physical abuse at the hands of his mum’s second partner, and while it’s a simple scene, it’s beautifully performed. Mason has already witnessed the collapse of his mum’s first marriage, her depression, and having to move to new places and schools where he knows no one, so his wondering if there is any magic left feels a lot more meaningful than it sounds on paper. The start of Boyhood is excellent at presenting Mason as an innocent naïve kid. 

The shot of a very young Mason gazing up at the sky has been used a lot in the film’s marketing, and I wasn’t expecting it to be featured at the very start, but seeing him stare into the distance while Coldplay’s Yellow plays is a really poignant moment of stillness, which is broken when we return to Mason’s parents fighting, real life invading his daydreaming. 

Another thing that stood out to me was the lack of dedication the film gives to important moments in Mason’s life. To be fair, a lot of time is given to his mum’s marriage problems, and the film ends with him graduating and moving off to college, but those are still the big-picture moments, so to speak. The film almost has to have these moments otherwise it wouldn’t truly be a coming-of-age film. What I’m talking about is where Mason finds his inspiration, what drives him to keep going and become the person he wants to be. 

In the film’s last third, he suddenly becomes a skilled and keen photographer out of nowhere, and there’s no set-up given to explain this passion. Even something as simple as him receiving a camera as a Christmas or birthday present would’ve worked. I’m not asking for a full emotional reason here, but with nearly three hours of film and twelve years to plan this out Linklater could’ve gotten into the minds and motivations of these characters more. 

That leads me to easily my main drawback with this film – it’s long. Way too long. You can understand its length from a certain perspective, being that the film wants to paint a full picture of a boy’s life going from a school kid to a freshman, but at the same time, you can do that in two hours, easily. The film’s pace is very leisurely and while that can work to show the passage of time, it’s ultimately flawed here as the film never feels like it’s building to anything. The final moments of Mason going to college are obvious from the start. That’s not a goal, that’s a result. I don’t know what lessons he’s truly learned as even by the end of the film, his photography teacher and boss complain about his lack of ambition and work ethic. 

I get that it’s relatable, as I know a lot of my fellow students who aren’t revising 2 months away from A-Levels, but for a film that is 2 hours and 45 minutes, the film felt incomplete to me. As Mason got older I found him much harder to grasp as a character. On the contrary, I actually found the supporting characters more interesting. 

I have actually heard many people conclude that this film isn’t about Mason but rather his life from the viewpoint of his divorced parents, played by Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke. These two are standout characters. Arquette and Hawke are just about flawless in their parts, and effortlessly realistic. I never felt once like they were acting lines from a script, it felt natural and fluid and most importantly, real. 

Arquette particularly has a lot of ground to cover as an actress here. Mason’s mother goes from a troubled mother trying to put a brave face on to her kids, to an emotionally devastated wife being abused, and ultimately to a broken woman trying to pick up the pieces. The end of the film shows her breaking down in tears as her son moves away to college, at the fact that her life has gone by so quickly. It’s probably my favourite scene in Boyhood as this is one of the only times any of our characters actually dwell on the hardships and struggles of life, as opposed to just letting things happen.

On that note, the film’s main message, which Mason’s new college friend Nicole says at the end of the film: people don’t seize moments, but moments seize people. This is a very poignant and thought-provoking statement to leave the film on, and it does make sense from a certain point of view: it might not give life meaning but it does give us purpose. 

Using this as Boyhood’s mission statement can lead to us looking at the film differently. Was Mason in control of his own life? Was Mason’s mother seizing opportunities for herself or because she has no other choice? The answer to that is complicated and Linklater seems to understand this, but the fact that the film tries to answer this will always lead to a conclusion that’s unsatisfying. Boyhood is an interesting experiment, occasionally fascinating and always watchable. However, it feels like it’s striving for an answer to life that its simple premise just won’t allow, and because of its length it won’t be a film I easily watch again. 

Alex’s Archive – Boyhood (2014)