Richard Linklater has had quite an illustrious career so far, spanning the iconic stoner comedy Dazed And Confused to emotionally touching movies like Before Sunset and Before Midnight, but no project meets the ambition of his latest cinematic triumph – Boyhood. Wanting to capture every essence of adolescence during the maturity of one lucky actor, Linklater met with his cast and crew for a few weeks each year for twelve years and developed a story about one child’s exploration into manhood from the humble beginnings of a wide-eyed toddler. Yes, this is a project over 12 years in the making – and it’s undoubtedly worth the wait.
There’s something about growing with actor Ellar Coltrane and actress Lorelei Linklater (yes, Richard’s daughter) that ensures a strong connective bond, harkening back to our very own childhood experiences. Every phase is captured, from rebellious times to more mature glances of puberty, but by keeping the actors completely the same (including Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette), you never lose that sense of family, along with raw, inescapable love. Children grow up entirely before our eyes, with no moment escaping the camera – an experience that just can’t be replicated by look-a-like actors and even the best storytelling.
While the whole gang was promoting Boyhood in New York City this week, I had the honor of sitting down with Linklater, Coltrane, Hawke, and Arquette for an exclusive video interview. While there were so many questions floating about my mind, I managed to focus on the challenges of filming over such a long time period, when the hardest ages were to shoot, and what kind of connective experience the long-form filming created. Everyone was an absolute pleasure to talk to, and I hope you enjoy the interview as much as I did!
Check it out below and be sure to catch Boyhood as it’s now playing in limited release and will be expanding next week.