Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by tinear (A) on August 10, 2014 at 08:42:06

Ethan Hawke/Delpy trilogy about the couple through time.
Here, he has done the same thing, but with one character, following the same actor for thirteen years--- from 5 to 18.
Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke also are seen during these years in real time--- as the parents-- and their transformations also are surprising: Hawke ages very well, Patricia… less so.
But Ellar Coltrane, the center of "Boyhood," is the reason to see the film: his performance is Oscar worthy. His sister, the director's daughter, Lorelei Linklater, is good, but it's hard not to see she's a Latina--- not possibly a blood relative. Poor choice in casting, Richard!
The film?
Pretty standard American story, nothing very surprising, nothing upsetting--- a melodrama. It is interesting to ponder how the Japanese master Ozu took just such bland material and fashioned masterworks, but he was a singular genius and it's unfair to expect anyone to approach that mastery, again.
Still, in a summer of disappointment, this film stands out among those that haven't resorted to FX or violence.

Edits: 08/10/14