NZIFF Film Review: "Boyhood" (2014).

"12 years in the making." This is Boyhood. This coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Richard Linklater. The film charts the rocky terrain of childhood like no other film has before. Snapshots of adolescence from road trips and family dinners to birthdays and graduations and all the moments in between become transcendent, set to a soundtrack spanning the years from Coldplay's Yellow to Arcade Fire's Deep Blue.

In May 2002, Linklater said that he would begin shooting an untitled film in his home state of Texas that summer. He planned to assemble the cast and crew for a few weeks' filming annually for twelve years. IFC, the film's distributor, committed to a film budget of US $200,000 per year, or $2.4 million over the twelve-year shooting period. By May 2002, Linklater cast Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Ellar Coltrane, Lorelei Linklater, and Libby Villari were cast. The cast could not sign contracts for the film due to the De Havilland Law, which makes it illegal to contract someone for more than seven years of work. Linklater told Hawke that he would have to finish the film if Linklater died. At the same time, principal photography commenced, and wrapped in October 2013. Filming took place throughout Texas, and was shot on 35mm film. Filming began without a completed script. Linklater had prepared each character's basic plot points, and the ending, but otherwise wrote the script for the next year's filming after rewatching the previous year's footage, incorporating the changes he saw in each actor. All major actors participated in the writing process, contributing their life experiences. Despite the unconventional screenwriting process, Linklater stated that he had a general storyline in mind, and that the actors did not change the general direction of the story. Despite the risks, Linklater was allowed an unusual level of freedom with the production, never having to show IFC the work as it progressed. Although Linklater had referred to the project as Boyhood during the early years of production, in 2013 he settled on the title 12 Years, but was forced to rename it due to the release of 12 Years a Slave in the same year.

The film stars Arquette, Coltrane, Linklater, Hawke, and Villari. The cast is an absolute marvel, showcasing the very best dialogue and capturing the sheer essence of acting brilliance from Arquette, Hawke and Coltrane.

Building on Linklater's previous works, Boyhood offers intelligent, powerfully acted perspectives on the ups and downs, pros and cons of childhood and eventual adulthood. Painfully honest, refreshing with wonderful lead performances, the film is an intimate and charming coming-of-age drama. Unleashing a stream of humanist consciousness that is both outraged and outrageous-and cathartic because we are laughing with Coltrane's character. There's drama, truth, poignancy and joy on display here. As Linklater knows all to well, it's a potent, engrossing combination. The film has all the best qualities of Linklater's previous films (a love of natural dialogue, and long takes that value the joy of performance and interaction), yet it is a grander and more complicated achievement.

Simon says Boyhood receives:

Also, see my reviews for Before Midnight and The Lady from Shanghai.