Motherhood in Boyhood

Slate film critic Dana Stevens takes a closer look at Arquette’s remarkable performance as Olivia, the doughty single mother in Richard Linklater’s 12-years-in-the-making coming-of-age story. In this video essay, Stevens looks at Arquette’s final scene, in which her son’s impending departure for college sets the stage for an aria of maternal grief.

[@BrandonQ1995]

"I thought there would be more." I'm the same age as Mason and watched this movie just before going off to college. I only lasted a year before leaving. This scene has stuck with me all these years and I really feel for her. It was a fear of mine that I would one day, toward my twilight years, say the same thing to myself. That being said, I've lived my life and continue to do so, as hard and as purposely possible. I've been all around the world, seen amazing places, met amazing people and done amazing things. Now, after getting myself settled, I'm returning to college this spring semester to finish what I had started 7 years ago. This movie literally changed my life for the better.

[@puahsloveable]

The first time I saw Olivia’s last scene, I had already cried through the entire film for a variety of reasons, and I heard her lines in this scene differently than perhaps it was meant. When she says “I thought there would be more,” in my mind she was referring to her time with her son (not necessarily her longevity) and honestly even though I’ve watched the scene on KZbin several times, for me I still hear it that way. I made a lot of shitty decisions along the way too as a woman and mother, and now that my son is in college well... I thought there would be more.

[@LordGreystoke]

Time flies even if you're not having fun.

[@thechristopheraguilar]

The power of film

[@moisemensah8233]

Lady, I don't know you. I live away from you in a different country, France. I read your comment intently, I watched this movie twice and I'll say this to you : you did the absolute best you could to have a decent life, to be a good mother and maybe like Olivia, you feel jaded by life and feel either at the crossroads or at the bitter end of your road. But let me tell you that you did well enough to get thus far and you ought to be proud to what you accomplished to be where you are today. Yes, as humans, we have tons of regret and sorrow. I have my fair share of sorrow, trauma and regret in 30 years of existence. I'm that young and there's been countless times in my story when I felt disillusioned and embittered by how I conducted the path I walked. But I've been working toward finding acceptance and closure through nostalgia and bereavement (I'm a suicide attempt survivor, I buried mates and childhood friends, I grew up as an intellectually gifted child with ADHD in one of France's roughest hoods where abuse, drug dealing business issues, going to jail young and murderous sprees which claimed many acquaintances' lives, teen pregnancy, empty fridges and violence were rife and normalized, but I got away shocked yet unscathed with two college degrees with Honors and I lived in Paris for eight years). Despite your circumstances and the roadblocks fate put in your path, you really did the best you could and you still have plenty of room to run. Growth continues the older we get. And I'm sure you're and will continue to be a great person and you'll be continuing at healing and writing stories to pass on to your child. God bless your heart.

[@Coco81218]

This was such a powerful scene that I still think upto today. Patricia Arquette truly deserved that Oscar.

[@angelsunlight]

This is best movie I’ve ever seen. Watched it two nights ago and I’m still thinking about it. I can relate to both the main character, as I was born in 1995. I can relate to Olivia as well, as I am a single boy mom, putting myself through school. The early to late 2000s nostalgia really did it for me, plus, with dazed and confused my favorite movie ever, of course I would love this piece of Linklater’s art

[@thechristopheraguilar]

What a great review and study of such a powerful scene and movie!!!

[@ashleypina8371]

Wow, beautiful analysis. I have seen this movie so many times and every time I watch, I learn something. Learned something new here too 💕

[@torystrending7285]

Just watched this movie for the first time about two weeks ago and it was amazing 📷 🍿 🎥 So impactful!!!!

[@Coffeeisnecessarynowpepper]

Was it?

[@bradleybindle6428]

Dana Steven is the best critic ever

[@letrasetraducoes6074]

Escolhei assistir esse filme por acaso agora em 26/04/2020, não tinha visto a sinopse nem a duração do filme 02: 42: 01, nem ao menos sabia que ele começou a ser gravado no ano de 2002 e terminou em 2013. Gostei bastante. Comecei pesquisar mais sobre o sobre a produção do filme e o diretor Richard Linklater não queria usar maquiagem para envelhecer os atores ou mesmo trocá-los durante a filmagem, por isso, ele manteve o mesmo elenco e gravou o filme durante 12 anos. Eu estava assistindo o filme por partes, assisti uns 30 minutos ai depois mais um pouco e tal, quando eu comecei a perceber e os atores estavam envelhecendo e eram as mesmas pessoas, resolvi pesquisar, mais sobre o filme. Estou assistindo agora pela segunda vez com mais atenção, pois não acompanhei direito na primeira vez, gostei da história..👍👍👍👍 Como tudo na vida, tem gente que não vai gostar, mas acredito que a maioria vai curtir demais a evolução e o crescimento do Ellar Coltrane Kinney Salmon. Deve ser muito loco ver seu crescimento em um filme, poucas pessoas experimentaram isso na vida, porque deve ter dado um trabalhão manter os mesmos atores durante todo o filme, bem legal.

[@drakashrakenburgproduction5369]

Woooooooooo!

[@jondstewart]

So many people didn’t get this movie and thought it was pointless, but it’s more than likely young people today born in the 90’s that don’t have cognitive abilities to understand this and they are the ones that don’t like this movie and haven’t lived long enough to see the world change. The fact that Mason was an innocent kid until they moved to San Marcos when he was 14 and all of a sudden he’s dealing with bullies and hanging out with boastful older boys and trying to act confident, then on his 15th birthday he’s a completely different person with a Lulu hairstyle, making out with an unidentified girl in the back of a station wagon driven by a cocky and nasty older kid, drinking, smoking weed, rebellious with grown-ups, then at 16 even more different, has a job, car, interest in photography only to be talked down to by his teacher, serious girlfriend that’s cute, but superficial and oblivious to his philosophical ways, parties with her in Austin for a weekend, breaks up with her after at least a year of a relationship, graduates high school, and goes to college in just a four short years. Yes, that fucks up a mature grown-up parent that’s been through it all when you see your child go through all those changes so fast. Your time clock runs a lot differently when you’re an adult. And 18-23’s are NOT adults, they’re teenagers in the transitioning stages!

[@yosvavideos6231]

Yeah! This movie is amazing !

[@billhader6766]

Really? I thought the complete opposite. I thought that kids in their late teens would relate with this movie more. It's a lesson of time. It teaches you to live in the moment and helps show that it truly is the little things in your life

[@paoroliaz1207]

Wow. So you're sayijng the generation this movie is about can't connect with or understand this movie? How does that make any sense?

[@JayDonagh]

Uhhh I'm just saying, I don't think the people who dislike this movie are variant of any generation. I'm fairly young myself and I completely understood it. Shouldn't be so overly generalizing there

[@jondstewart]

Lord Stewart nice try. I’m an X’er, just like Mason’s parents in this movie. We don’t care for Boomers, either and are the ones that raised younger Millennials and Z’ers! 😊

[@kdragonballz]

👍🏾

[@ashleypina8371]

Linklater def needs to make Boyhood 2.

[@Parito2378]

Nah I don't think so it's best this way no more parts which make this film more rich

[@TrollermanSixtysevan]

SECOND!!!

[@uniteone9206]

I watched it a few times. I think she missed all the good moments with her kids. She focused so much on these bad relationships rather then her children. The father was amazing. The transformation he did was beautiful. He never gave up on his kids. The mom should have done better and thought about the kids well being like the father. It’s her loss at the end. The son moved on and entered his next stage in adulthood

[@SaintVic2287]

Don't romantize her character here. She was a narcissistic person only caring about herself. She never wanted to try and fix her relationship with her kids father. She wanted the easy way out and try to reset her life which she did multiple times in the film. Ethans character grew because he found a woman willing to accept his faults. The mom was insufferable and a hypocrite. In the end she realized her undoing because the only thing she had was her kids and them leaving made her feel like nothing.