Richard Linklater Page 2

By shooting this film over 12 years, writer-director Richard Linklater is able to explore family dynamics in an intensely involving way that's never been seen on-screen before. Watching the film is such an immersive experience that it's impossible not to be moved as the characters grow up before our eyes. But this isn't a gimmicky drama; it's a masterwork of writing, directing, editing and acting.

The story opens in as a single mother (Patricia Arquette) makes the difficult decision to take her young children Samantha and Mason (Lorelei Linklater and Ellar Coltrane) back to Houston to live near her mother (Libby Villari) so she can go to university. Eventually the kids' absent father (Ethan Hawke) arrives for a visit, and over the following years both parents do their best to raise the kids on alternating weekends. Step-parents (Marco Perella, Brad Hawkins and Tamara Jolaine) come and go, while the children grow into young adults. Samantha leaves for college, and Mason discovers a talent for photography, which will shape his future. And he also has a first experience with love before graduating from high school and facing the world on his own.

As the title suggests, the film centres on Mason, and the remarkable Coltrane ages from 6 to 18 over the course of the story. Watching him grow up physically is sometimes startling, but it's his emotional process that makes the film a true classic, mainly because his inner development is pretty much the only plot the movie has. And it's utterly riveting: over two hours and 45 minutes, there isn't a single dull moment. This family shifts and changes, going through rhythms of playfulness, private jokes, dark emotion and deep pain. They also offer a running commentary on 12 years of American history, discussing politics and other issues while making major decisions about their own lives.

Continue reading: Boyhood Review

It's been 18 years since Hawke, Delpy and Linklater introduced us to Jesse and Celine, and their story just gets richer, funnier and more punchy each time we see them. In 1995's Before Sunrise, they were idealistic 23-year-olds. In 2004's Before Sunset, they were thinking about bigger issues, including their future. Now at age 41, they're approaching middle age and asking questions about their life choices.

We catch up with Jesse and Celine (Hawke and Delpy) on a Greek island, where they're just finishing their summer holiday. As they prepare to go home to Paris with their 7-year-old twins (Jennifer and Charlotte Prior), Jesse's 13-year-old son Hank (Davey-Fitzpatrick) is returning to his still-angry mother in Chicago. But Jesse is wishing he had more time with Hank, and floats the idea of moving to America. This makes Celine furious, since she's just about to start an exciting new job. Clearly it's time to take stock of their relationship and make some important decisions.

Watching these characters (and the actors playing them) age is fascinating, as they encounter different issues at each stage of life. It's not necessary to have seen the earlier films, because they were essentially different people back then. This movie stands on its own as a snappy, deeply resonant look at a crunch-point in a relationship, as a couple tries to decide if their still-burning passion is strong enough to carry them forward. And Hawke and Delpy deliver the dialog impeccably, with razor-sharp wit and artistic sensitivity swirling through everything they say. Watching them is a joy.

Continue reading: Before Midnight Review

Richard Linklater mixes comedy, drama and documentary to tell a frankly outrageous true story, and in the process he also gives Jack Black one of his best-yet roles. Even though his character is camp and colourful, Black beautifully underplays him, channelling his normally excessive style of acting into something utterly endearing. And while the story is packed with tragedy, Linklater still manages to keep us laughing.

Black plays Bernie, a well-loved member of the community in small-town Carthage, Texas. Bernie is the local mortician, and he has a reputation for caring for the families of the deceased. Mainly the widows. Then his life takes a strange turn when he meets Marjorie (MacLaine), a cranky widow who's estranged from her family and has more money than she can spend. Now in addition to running the town theatre club and managing a local art show, Bernie is managing Marjorie's finances and traveling with her around the world. Then she rewrites her will to leave everything to him, and events take a startling turn.

The film is narrated through documentary-style interviews with the town's brutally honest residents, and only some of them are played by actors. They talk about Bernie's place in the town, and how opinion shifted when he was accused of Marjorie's murder. Knowing that Bernie was a real man, and that these events really happened, adds a spark of energy to the film that actually augments the blackly comical tone. And opposite Black, MacLaine delivers one of her strongest, snappiest turns. McConaughey is also great fun as the blustering prosecutor who's shocked that anyone in town still loves Bernie. But they all do.

Continue reading: Bernie Review

Richard (Efron) is a 17-year-old wannabe in 1937 New York, determined to get into the groundbreaking Mercury Theatre company run by 22-year-old genius Orson Welles (McKay). When he stumbles into a role in their landmark production of Julius Caesar, Richard can't believe his luck. He's working alongside such ascending stars as George Coulouris (Chaplin), John Houseman (Marsan), Muriel Brassler (Reilly), Jopseph Cotton (Tupper) and Norman Lloyd (Bill). And he feels even more fortunate when Orson's hard-to-get assistant Sonja (Danes) agrees to go out with him.

Continue reading: Me And Orson Welles Review

Most people will not understand Waking Life. Some will find it to be one of the most brilliant pieces of film ever produced. I found it to be beyond words; a combination of film, groundbreaking computer animation, and a difficult and profane script that produces a sublime interpretation of existence.

Continue reading: Waking Life Review

I lived in Austin when Slacker was made in 1991 -- I was a junior at The University of Texas at the time, not cool enough to personally know anyone involved with the production but certainly aware of it when it came out. You couldn't avoid it: The film earned a miniscule release and was ignored at the national level, but in the town of Austin (population about 800,000 at the time), it got the red carpet treatement, playing in local theaters all year long.

Continue reading: Slacker Review

Watching "Waking Life" is like eavesdropping on a theoretical discourse between Kierkegaard and Kerouac, while standing in a modern art museum as the paintings come to life and melt into your visual cortex.

An eye-popping, mind-blowing, groundbreaking piece of stream-of-consciousness pop-art philosophy, director Richard Linklater has created a film that turns the notions of dreaming and reality inside out, both visually and conceptually, while telling an absorbing tale of a off-beat teenage boy (Wiley Wiggins) trying to wrap his head around a ponderous waking dream from which he can't seem to escape.

Linklater ("Slacker," "SubUrbia") shot the film on digital video with dozens of actors (some of note, some unknown) playing nameless denizens of the real world and of the kid's subconscious. They're characters from whom he soaks up random abstract ideas on everything from transcendence and reincarnation to collective memory to the existence of free will.

Continue reading: Waking Life Review