So I saw this new movie “Boyhood” directed by the most under appreciated filmmaker in the world Richard Linklater. We all know what “Boyhood” is about and how it was made therefore, I will not bore you with the details. Now the question, why am I plucking a large syllable word such as, “verisimilitude”? Almost every one of Richard Linklater’s films personifies that large and seemingly pretentious word. The word may sound pretentious but the definition is far from it; “the appearance of being true or real”.
The “Before” trilogy, “Tape”, “Bernie”, “Dazed and Confused”, “Slacker”, and ultimately “Boyhood”. The films look real, feel real, and ultimately there is a truth and honesty that comes from every moment on screen. Richard Linklater allows those moments to happen. It may not be flashy camera moves or clever story telling but genius comes from allowing life to enter into fiction without a clear line of where one side ends and the other side begins. Each one of Richard Linklater’s films is beautifully photographed and masterfully made from every craft department. Even the most seemingly inconsequential character on screen is given humanity and ultimately empathy that catches the viewer off guard. In the almost 2 and a half hour “Boyhood”, I was surprised by characters that are usually treated as cliches but in Linklater’s world treated with dignity and complexity. But it all seems so easy and “real” that he never got the credit he truly deserved over the last three decades. It is time that we look at directors as those with a light touch and not a heavy handed dictatorial attitude. Great leaders are collaborators, not commanders.
A computer might be able to generate amazing CGI images, a dolly track and a steadicam might make a shot look kinetic but the one aspect that only a skilled filmmaker can create is a word with one too many syllables “verisimilitude”. Check out this great interview from VICE with director Richard Linklater who SHOULD WIN Oscars for “Best Director” and “Best Original Screenplay” at next year’s Academy Awards.