In 2014, Richard Linklater released the film Boyhood. The movie shows the growing up period of a boy named Mason and his sister Samantha. This ode to coming of age and parenting was filmed in Texas. Read more about the film, which received overwhelming critical acclaim, and its filming sets in Houston on houston-trend.
STORYLINE
The movie is about the gradual adulting of a boy, Mason. Starting from the age of 6, he is growing up, observing changes in himself and his surroundings. His mother, Olivia, takes care of him and Samantha on her own. The family resides in a small Texas town. They move to Houston in 2003 so that Olivia can get her education at the University of Houston and, therefore, a better job.
In 2004, the boy’s father, Mason Sr., comes to visit the children and takes them bowling. Later, Olivia marries her professor, Bill Welbrock, who also has his own children. Mason and Samantha attend school with their half-siblings Mindy and Randy.
Mason and Samantha reconnect with their biological father in 2006. The following year, addicted to alcohol, Bill displays brutality to Olivia and the children. After he raises his hand against Olivia, she moves with Mason and Samantha to a friend’s house and files for divorce. Unable to find a biological mother of her adopted children, she leaves them with their alcoholic father.
In 2008, Mason Sr. tries to become closer with his kids again. They go hiking, watch movies, etc. Then, the children go to San Marcos, a town near Austin. The next year, Mason is bullied at school and playfully teased on a camping trip. But girls start to cast a glance at him. Olivia gets a job as a psychology teacher and moves in with her boyfriend, Jim. He is a student and an Iraq war veteran.
Mason starts experimenting with marijuana and alcohol in 2010. Mason Sr. married for the second time and has a child. He takes Mason and Samantha to visit his wife’s parents. In 2011, Mason starts dating Sheena. Olivia eventually splits from Jim. The family’s financial situation worsens.
Samantha enters the University of Texas at Austin. After graduating from high school, Mason goes through a painful breakup with Sheena. However, he wins a state photography contest and gets a fellowship. The boy becomes a student at Sul Ross State University.
IT TOOK 12 YEARS TO SHOT THE FILM
The movie was shot for 12 years, from 2002 to 2013. The cast remained unchanged. It’s a ground-breaking coming-of-age story shown through the eyes of Mason, who literally grows up before the viewers’ screens.
Interestingly, the script was not completed when the shooting process began. There was only the outline of the plot and a thought-out ending. Director Richard Linklater developed the script during the production. The leading actors were involved in its creation, adding their own life experiences to the story of their characters. For example, the character of Mason Sr. was inspired by the parents of the actress who played Samantha. They are Texas insurance agents who, like Mason Sr., are divorced. Olivia’s persona reflects the actress’s real mother. She resumed her education in adult life and became a psychotherapist.
FILM LOCATIONS IN HOUSTON
Given that director Linklater spent half of his childhood in Houston, his desire to shoot most of the key scenes of Boyhood in this city becomes clear. In addition, the film features Texas cities such as San Marcos, Austin, Bastrop, as well as the wild deserts of the state. In particular, the final scenes, when Mason and his friends go on a hike and admire the sunset, were filmed in Big Bend Ranch Park.
In Houston, where divorced Olivia moves with her children to pursue her education, there is a scene when she picks up Mason from a school. The school exists in Houston in reality and is called Atherton Elementary School. The square Art Deco building where Professor Bill Welbrock lectures about Pavlov’s dogs is the Ezekiel W. Cullen Building of the University of Houston.
Cockrell Butterfly Center at the Houston Museum of Natural Science is an exhibit of live butterflies in a tropical forest. Here, you can see various species of the world’s largest and most beautiful butterflies. In the film, the butterfly center can be noticed when Mason’s father takes him and Samantha on a fun adventure in which they visit different attractions in downtown Houston.
One of the touching episodes, when Mason Sr. stops the car and frankly talks to his children about their further communication with him, was shot on the streets of central Houston. Miller Outdoor Theatre appears in the background in an episode in which Mason Sr. plays football with his kids before taking them to a Houston Astros baseball game.
Minute Maid Park baseball stadium in Houston is featured in Boyhood. This is where they finish their cheerful day, which they spent at the game.
LEADING ACTORS
Ellar Coltrane was in the role of Mason Jr. He joined the cast when he was 6. In 2016, Coltrane also appeared in a drama film about Barack Obama, Barry. The following year, he starred alongside Emma Watson in the sci-fi thriller The Circle.
Richard Linklater’s older daughter, Lorelei Linklater, played Samantha. In addition to Boyhood, the actress starred in another movie directed by her father, the animated docufiction Waking Life.
Olivia was played by Patricia Arquette from Chicago. Her feature film debut was as Kristen Parker in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987). She is the holder of several Emmys and Golden Globes. Arquette won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for playing a single mother in Boyhood.
Ethan Hawke got the part of Mason Sr. He made his debut in cinema in the 1985 science fiction film Explorers. Four years later, the movie Dead Poets Society brought him a breakthrough in his career. It tells the story of an English teacher who motivates his students to make changes in their lives and awakens their interest in poetry and literature.
THE HIGHEST RATING
Boyhood reached 97% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 327 professional reviews, with an average rating of 9.2/10. Metacritic website, based on the opinions of 50 critics, estimated the movie with a score of 100 out of 100. This is the highest rating among all films reviewed after their initial release on the site.
The film was presented in the main competition of the 64th Berlin International Film Festival. Then Linklater won the Silver Bear Award for Best Director. It was also nominated for 5 Golden Globe Awards, winning in the categories of Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director. Arquette received Best Supporting Actress for her role. The movie was also awarded with 5 BAFTA Awards and 6 Academy Awards.
In her review for The New York Times, Manohla Dargis stated that the brilliantly conveyed realism of the film was unbelievable. Critic Anthony Scott named Boyhood the best film of 2014. He added that in his 15 years as a professional film critic, he could not recall a single movie that had such a profound impact on him as this one.
