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Home Archives for richard linklater

July 30, 2014 By iluvcinema 5 Comments

Was “Boyhood” Worth the Wait?

I have been trying to see Boyhood for nearly half a year now, since its debut at the Sundance Film Festival. As it made its rounds on the festival circuit, opportunity after opportunity was missed, as I tried (in vain) to catch it somewhere … anywhere. After some time, I had therefore concluded that the cinematic gods were bound to keep me and Boyhood forever apart.

Ultimately perseverance and patience prevailed and it finally happened.

So after this great wait and anticipation the question must be asked and answered: Was it worth the wait?
My response? That would be an unequivocal YES.

Boyhood Ellar Coltrane

I know a lot has been made of the style and approach the film took – indeed major dap to director Richard Linklater and the cast for remaining committed to a cinematic project 12 years in the making. The history of feature filmmaking is littered with similarly ambitious auteurs who have tried and ultimately abandoned such an undertaking. That said, I really do not think that the film would work simply by relying on an interesting or inventive technique to keep the audience engaged. It is obvious that this is a unique selling point – in the length of a narrative to watch people age on screen and in ‘reel’ time is definitely a wonder. But there also has to be a story (narrative thread) present for us to sit down invest our time in with a deal of satisfaction. Now, it doesn’t have to be a grand or epic arc, but just a story, well told. That is what we have here — 12 years in the film of a film with a boy, Mason (Ellar Coltrane) as our through point.

As you are sat watching the film, it becomes crystal clear that this film in not exclusively about him but rather it is all about the people, places and things which shape him and his family’s life over the course of 10+ years.

One of my favorite details of the film was Linklater’s bookmarking the passage of time, through cuts, knowing transitions and the sub-marking the years with cultural artifacts – the video game systems moments were very well placed.

By creating a ‘small’ story, you can appreciate that it is in the quiet that some of the more transformational events in our lives take place and that often, they carry a heavier importance than what we consider major life events.

Congrats to the central cast (Patricia Arquette, Lorelei Linklater, Ethan Hawke) and the many supporting players for conveying these authentic life experiences to their audience. Especially looking at several of the peripheral characters, you get to observe the very real happenstance of people seamlessly and sometimes abruptly moving in and out of our lives.

But be warned – the running time is approaching three hours (164 minutes to be exact), but it certainly does not feel like it. And it ends on a perfect note – as the boy is on the precipice of “manhood.”

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: boyhood, richard linklater, richard linklater boyhood

April 17, 2013 By iluvcinema 3 Comments

Tribeca 2013 Preview: 3 to See

Well folks. The Tribeca Film Festival, is open for business today! While I will not be attending any live events until Friday, ahead of the official start, I had the pleasure of squeezing in a couple of pre-festival screenings.

Here are some films I feel are worth a look.

 

BYZANTIUM (2012)

BYZANTIUM

Byzantium marks director Neil Jordan’s second foray into the vampire genre; the first being the slightly disappointing 1994 feature Interview with a Vampire. Here, many of the standard Gothic elements that did work in Interview remain, the slight alterations to the standard vampire folklore combined with a decidedly modern edge make this one worth watching.

Clara (Gemma Aterton) and her ‘sister’ Eleanor (Saoirse Ronan) find themselves seeking shelter in a seaside resort town and take up with an unsuspecting man (Daniel Mays) in his rundown hotel. As the narrative unfolds, we learn more about their past and what has brought them to this point.

The film is also an examination of how each woman come to terms with the curse of being undead and what that means for their humanity, or whatever remains of it.

Byzantium also stars Sam Riley, Jonny Lee Miller and Caleb Landry Jones.

 

THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST (2012)

Reluctant_Fundamentalist_1

Mira Nair’s directs this adaptation of the novel by Mishin Hamid about a young Pakistani professor Changez Khan (Riz Ahmed), Princeton-educated and seemingly on the fast-track to realizing the American Dream. This comes to an abrupt halt in the wake of the September 11th attacks. Feeling alienation and under suspicion, he returns to Pakistan and through no will of his own becomes both a leader to his students and a target of interest for the American government.

The film also stars Liev Schreiber, Kiefer Sutherland and Kate Hudson.

 

BEFORE MIDNIGHT (2013)

before_midnight_4

Before Midnight is by all accounts the third and final installment to the love story that began 18 years ago during a chance encounter on a Vienna-bound train. It is poignant look at Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy), as they approach middle age together. Like the previous chapters of their story, much of the story is a reflective piece that yes, has the risk of falling victim to what some may consider “navel gazing,” but here, it is delivered with such freshness by the leads that you are along the ride. Also like the previous films, the setting serves as a major backdrop to the story – this time, we are transported to a dreamy Grecian landscape.

Before Midnight is, like the other films, directed by Richard Linklater.

Filed Under: film festival Tagged With: before midnight, byzantium, mira nair, neil jordan, richard linklater, the reluctant fundamentalist, tribeca Film Festival

January 17, 2012 By iluvcinema 11 Comments

Tuesday’s Overlooked Film: Me and Orson Welles (2008/9)

For this week’s session (as part of Todd Mason‘s weekly ‘Overlooked’ Films series), I have chosen Richard Linklater’s Me and Orson Welles from 2008/9.

The film stars Zac Efron, Claire Danes and Christian McKay as Orson Welles.

The year is 1937 when 17-year Richard Samuels (Efron) and theater wunderkind Orson Welles (McKay) meet via a chance encounter in front of the Mercury Theater with Welles; Welles is in the process of producing Shakespeare’s Julius Cesar. As a result of the encounter, Welles offers the overly eager Richard a role in the play. The film then chronicles the progress of the production; at the same time we are privy to a coming of age story – courtesy of the backstory involving Samuel and aspiring actress Sonja Jones (Danes).

Whenever an actor is portraying a historical figure, especially one who is of such a stature as Orson Welles, it is easy to make immediate comparisons to that person. As Welles, McKay’s portrayal occasionally falls into the category of “very good impression,” but it was fun to watch him take on the Hollywood legend’s bombastic nature and swagger. In a supporting role, Claire Danes does a fine job as the ‘girl who got away.’

To date, I have basically dismissed Zac Efron as just another teenybopper pretty boy. While I will need to see more in his body of work; here in Me and Orson Welles he delivers but never fully captures the spirit of (what’s in my head for the character) the doe-eyed fish out of water to the world of theater. Maybe his turn in Lee Daniels’ upcoming The Paperboy will prove or disprove my theory.

This film is another solid mark on Richard Linklater’s already varied and diverse CV, which includes a couple of my favorite films in recent memory, including School of Rock and the double-bill of Before Sunset/Before Sunrise. 

I would not elevate Me and Orson Welles to that status, but it is a film watching to make up your mind about.

Filed Under: Overlooked Films Tagged With: christian mckay, claire danes, mercury theater, orson welles, richard linklater, zac efron

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