Date: 2014
Director: Richard Linklater
Actors/ Characters: Ellar Coltrane/ Mason, Patricia Arquette/ Mom, Lorelei Linklater/ Samantha, Ethan Hawke/ Dad, Marco Perella/ Professor Bill Welbrock
Summary: The life of Mason, from early childhood to his arrival at college.
Review
This film lived up to the critic's reviews and the praise during its release, honestly I thought this film would be good but not brilliant. The story was so much more complex than I could've ever preconceived and the fact this film was shot over a span of 12 years was genius in my opinion. Through having the same actors play the same characters for 12 years of their lives adds so much authenticity and realism to the plot and the characters which resulted in a more wholesome watch for me as an audience member. My hat goes off to Linklater.
The cast of the film were truly phenomenal from the younger actors such as Ellar Coltrane and Lorelei Linklater and the older actors like Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette. I think in the earlier scenes of the film when the kids are particularly young the acting quality is obviously lesser however that is clearly due to the ages of the actors and not their talent. As I said earlier I loved seeing the development of the actors as well as the characters as it added much more depth and authenticity to the entire film and helped me become more invested in the story.
An actor that really stood out for me in this film was Ethan Hawke- I have to applaud his performance in this production. Mason Sr's narrative arc was truly commendable, seeing his transition to a off-the-rails and distracted father struggling to have a paternal relationship with his children to a caring and successful man and fatherly figure to Mason and Samantha. I felt by the end of the film Mason Sr had really redeemed all his past wrongs and grown into the man everyone needed him to be.
Although the younger Mason was adorable and charming I began to feel disconnected from him later on in the film- perhaps this Linklater's intention as often children become distant and uncaring in their teenage years. However I felt Mason's struggle to discover who he wanted to be only detached me from the character. Similarly I didn't like older Mason's beliefs and ideas as I felt they were too profound and meaningful for, in all honesty, a down-to-earth and in some ways simple film.
Overall I loved the messages and ideas behind the film. Although Mason was the main focal protagonist, the film was not only about his journey but about a family's. We watched Samantha, Mason, Olivia and Mason Sr all grow and develop as people and we had a chance to witness 12 years of their life. Indeed some parts of the film felt a little rushed but that is a given due to the fact you simply cannot perfectly condense 12 years into a 3 hour film. There were so many beautiful and moving family moments knitted throughout this film which made it so universally brilliant to watch. I loved the abruptness of the film's ending as there would never had been a clear cutoff point without having one of the characters die, therefore the swift ending perfectly mirrors the suddenness of life.
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