Anticipating Linklater's "Boyhood"

otm

i liked it for the nostalgic moments of verisimilitude -- there were definite tics and references that i would not expect to see in a movie unless they were being recorded in secret -- but gawd linklater really only has one idea of male adolescence/youngadulthood doesn't he? there was so much of ol' wiley wiggins in this and i didn't really like dazed and confused either. also a few moments where that dazed and confused era seeped through weirdly, when mason was around wiley's age. and that's juxtaposed with the weird lack of pop culture history throughout, which i always hate about recent-period pieces; aside from samantha singing along with "comfortably numb" and i guess mason's understanding of the beatles everything was kept so current, ignoring how heavy the culture of our elders weighs on us as we grow up.

that wouldn't have stuck out so much if linklater wasn't so insistent on marking time with present pop culture

aside from samantha singing along with "comfortably numb" and i guess mason's understanding of the beatles everything was kept so current, ignoring how heavy the culture of our elders weighs on us as we grow up.

that's precisely what the movie doesn't do!

The scene with the solo Beatles comp played like "Oh, god, another generation corrupted" -- oh, even a post-boomer dad can't resist a comp with solo George.

Friend who I saw this with pointed out that watching Ethan Hawke age was at least as interesting as watching the kid grow up

xp that's like the only thing! and there's no way linklater intended for the scene to be read that way. he's still got ideas about sensitive male authenticity he pushes on everything.

it's interesting that with a film built around pop culture refs we don't really get to know the individual things mason likes as he gets to the age where he'd probably start over-identifying with them. just photography and graffiti and not lacrosse.

the lack of the line "lacrosse players are assholes" broke the verisimilitude for me tbh

eh I've actually known kids his age detached from pop culture; later they learn that this is how they presented themselves.

struck me as a sign of the last third's undercookedness, too many teenage waking life monologues and authority figure lessons, not enough bullshit

wish i had a teacher like mr. terlington in HS though

Haven't read the last couple weeks' posts, but liked this. Great? gtfo.

What makes the last third work is THAT KID -- he just has that translucent cinematic object quality.

Linklater's daughter seemed like a plausibly annoying teenager. This could be the best P Arquette performance I've seen too.

Is this the first time RL has shot inside the Continental Club since Slacker?

fuck pop culture history btw

(except lib idiocy about Obama '08 was nicely documented, semi-unintentionally)

What makes the last third work is THAT KID -- he just has that translucent cinematic object quality.

I'm glad you caught it too. This part of the movie's been shortchanged.

and it's beyond him being model-beautiful.

most def think the 'Black Album' scene was partly satirical, even if Linklater can't hate on the Beatles to Alfred's satisfaction.

Mason's embarrassed gratitude is the giveaway.

and it's beyond him being model-beautiful

Rather, it's all about how close he came to that level without ever actually quite getting there.

speaking of model-beautiful: Charlie Sexton as Mason, Sr's musician buddy!

yeah i didnt realize that was him til the credits.

go back to yr Dave Franco scrapbook, E.

i recognized one of the louts in the karate "camping" scene as the kid who was punched out by Robert Forster in The Descendants. Has he aged out of playing teen apes yet?

http://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.8882997.1406222743!/httpImage/image.JPG_gen/derivatives/display_600/image.JPG

also this was seldom v "Hallmark" or anywhere near tearjerky. I'm trying to think of a comparable piece where the last words we hear from a sympathetic parent as his/her kid departs is a grave-echoey "I expected more."

co-sign on Arquette, have not been that impressed with her in a long time. amusing to see her with her Medium haircut midway through.

Thought I'd seen the late-film girlfriend, Sheena, before, but I think I was just confusing her with Joanna Newsom.

Brooklyn audience obligingly laughed at the hicks and their Bible and guns

Pretty sure that moment will play to laughter everywhere it plays.

What teenager ever wanted a Bible for their birthday?

Jerry Falwell.

so when Mason Sr steals the McCain sign are ppl laughing AT him, or...

(tells the kid to steal it, rather)

Your Armond still needs a little spit and polish, but it's getting there.

(Of course people are laughing at him!)

I'm assuming the 2012 prez campaign wasn't mentioned cuz even Austinites couldn't fake it anymore.

A film crit on my wall remarked on the unusualness in the 21st century of letting Mason drive to college on his first day of dorm check-in.

letting Mason drive ALONE, that is.

but gawd linklater really only has one idea of male adolescence/youngadulthood doesn't he?

What other ideas is he supposed to have -- YOURS? Rather perhaps you mean he has similar ways of expressing his sense of this period, which only makes sense.

You ppl sure paid a lot of attention to Wiley Wiggins. I've seen D&C 4 or 5 times and Waking Life at least twice, and every time he's mentioned I have to remind myself who he is.

he's not as cute as Mason.

just saw computer chess, did not recognize him.

Wiley Wiggins was in that?!

i think ethan hawke was my fave part abt this whole thing, like it was almost secretly a film about a deadbeat dad coming of age a decade and a half late. even towards the end he's still kind of giving shitty advice to mason but he's totally a way better dad than he's ever been up to that point

The audience sort of laughed/sighed/clucked at EH's "Women always wanna trade up" line near the end.

Because we saw so little of Mason's best friend, their relationship was ambiguous for me to wonder for a few minutes whether he and Mason were lovers and that's why they were nervous about attending the graduation party.

its just awkward bein a teen, man

Alfred hoping 'Richard Linklater' was a pseud for Gus Van Sant

i think ethan hawke was my fave part abt this whole thing, like it was almost secretly a film about a deadbeat dad coming of age a decade and a half late. even towards the end he's still kind of giving shitty advice to mason but he's totally a way better dad than he's ever been up to that point

Yeah, I think this is what I enjoyed most about the movie.

total number of shooting days: 39

http://www.austinmonthly.com/Austin-Amplified/March-2014/SXSW-2014-Q-A-with-Richard-Linklater-Ethan-Hawke-and-Ellar-Coltrane/

sheena is a dead ringer for joanna n -- otm!
i noticed that too and wondered if she was chosen specifically for that reason and then given the name "sheena"

also i knew that mason sr's dad looked like a famous person. charlie sexton -- of course!! dude totally has the look of a lifer in the music biz. great casting.

btw gross this weekend was over $1.7 M on 107 screens

Alfred hoping 'Richard Linklater' was a pseud for Gus Van Sant

Well, there was the nail polish too.

extra lols at Mason Sr marveling over Roger Clemens' pitching performance circa 2005, unaware that he's 'roided up.