Last night, I finally got the chance to order the film BOYHOOD on demand, and while I won’t tell you it’s the most fast-paced or entertaining film you are likely to see this year, it is definitely a satisfying movie experience and one with many strong points. Great performances from the cast, especially its veterans Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke, as well as its young lead male star Ellar Coltrane. It can feel long and a bit uneven, even slow at times. But I applaud the filmmaker Richard Linklater for embarking on a unique film experience and even more so, being persuasive enough to recruit a whole band of actors and crew to join him on telling a boy’s story over the course of twelve years from ages five to 18 — in real time.
Talk about needing patience as an artist! That had to be quite a challenge early on to forge ahead knowing just how far down the road you’d have to wait to see the fruits of your labor. I have a hard enough time maintaining patience producing a 90,000-word book.
If you get a chance to see the film before the Oscars (next Sunday night, Feb. 22), I certainly recommend it but be able to devote your full attention and time (about 3 hours of it). What I took away most was a little nugget tucked away in the final 10 minutes of the film. It won’t ruin anything for you with regard to plot, so I’ll divulge it now for it is too good a point not to share.
Two characters muse about the expression “seize the moment” (That the discussion took place in a film starring Ethan Hawke who once appeared with the beloved Robin Williams in the greatest film celebrating “Carpe Diem!” DEAD POETS SOCIETY was not lost on me.) As both chat in one of the film’s most refreshingly sweet and naturally-scripted conversations, they observe that we do not seize a moment at all and that moments are happening around us all the time. The two conclude that in fact, a moment seizes you.
So I hope as you embark on this Sunday and mingle with friends or family, allocate a little me time or tackle some work assignment or home project today, that you keep your mind and your heart open to each minute that presents itself. Because you never know when a special moment just might seize you. ~ ck
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