Richard Linklater keeps pushing the boundaries. But nothing is quite as amazing as the achievement we are about to see with the release of his film Boyhood. The acclaimed director has spent the past 12 years, a few weeks during each summer, telling the story of a young man. But the kicker is that he has been filming the young boy, Australian Ellar Coltrane (my name is so boring...with a name like that the kid was destined for stardom) and watching him come of age.
But this is not a documentary. There is a narrative and a script that Linklater used to tell his story, all the while keeping the same cast (among which are Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette) and settings. From the trailer, it is astonishing to see the kid grow up right before your eyes. You can already feel something unique when you get glimpses of the little 6-year-old grow into an 18-year-old man without the use of camera tricks or new actors.
It remains to be seen whether or not the flick will resonate, but early buzz seems positive. Besides...anybody that brought us the Before Sunrise trilogy and Dazed & Confused gets the benefit of the doubt.
