A Refreshing Realism

Realism is an actor's genre.

Ellar Coltrane

Richard Linklater's Boyhood pushes realism past it's persistent 19th century parameters by filming a plotless movie over the course of twelve years so that we can watch the characters age. The lack of a plot paints a realistic picture of what growing up is like: boyhood doesn't have an inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action and neat resolution followed by a denouement. At the same time, a three hour film that doesn't give us the orgasmically structured rush we're used to could be a real drag. It takes good actors schooled in psychological realism to make it come off, and Linklater proves that he knows how to pick them.

Boyhood follows Mason (Ellar Coltrane) and Samantha (Lorelei Linklater) as they grow up in suburban Texas. Their dad (Ethan Hawke) is trying to involve himself in their lives, and their mom (Patricia Arquette) wants to find them a good step-dad. The kids get and break up with girlfriends and boyfriends. They experiment with booze and pot, and put up Obama signs with their dad. Mason discovers his passion for photography, and both kids grow up and leave for college.

That sounds about as interesting as watching grass grow, right? That's because the story isn't that interesting. What's interesting is how the actors, principally the core four (Coltrane, Linklater, Hawke and Arquette) inhabit their roles. The Realism with which they approach their roles isn't the American Method. The Method calls for a strong focus on objectives and tactics. Think of it this way, if you're acting using the American Method, you want to figure out what your character wants from your scene partner. It's got to be something concrete, something you'll recognize and celebrate if you get. You start with one tactic to get what you want from them, and if that doesn't pay off, you move on to another. In real life, we might act this way in a job interview or during a break-up, but we generally aren't so Machiavellian. The Boyhood cast acts in a way that reflects the way we really are. When Sheena (Zoe Graham) breaks up with Mason, he is clearly trying to get her to take him back. The mom has a clear goal when she needs to get her kids out of a dangerous situation. Arquette, however, doesn't have a clear objective with its test in Coltrane when he leaves for college. Sometimes you're just sad without ulterior motives, and Arquette reflects that with a refreshing honesty. Linklater set out to make a film that portrays an honest boyhood, and so he needs a cast whose acting could take Realism past it's unfortunate conflation with the American Method. Fortunately, he put together a stellar cast who can move past the American Method towards real Realism. By doing so, Boyhood presents intrinsically relatable characters, an accomplishment that allows the audience to emphasize with them on a deeply human level.