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THIS WEEK St James Cavalier Valletta Tel. 21 223200 Boyhood 18:00 Embassy Cinemas Valletta Tel. 21 227436, 21 245818 Lucy (15) 10:00, 12:15, 14:30, 16:45, 19:00, 21:15 Guardians of the Galaxy (12A) 10:00, 13:00, 15:45, 18:35, 21:15 Step Up 5 All In (PG) 10:00, 13:15, 18:35 Into the Storm (12A) 10:00, 12:15, 14:30, 16:45, 19:00, 21:15 The Inbetweeners 2 (15) 16:00, 18:30, 20:50 The House of Magic (U) 10:00, 12:00 The Expendables 3 (12A) 15:45, 21:15 Boyhood (15) 14:00, 17:20, 20:50 Eden Cinemas St Julian's Tel. 23 710400 Deliver Us From Evil (15) 14:00, 16:25, 18:50, 21:15, 23:40 Step Up 5: All In (PG) 14:00, 16:20, 18:40, 21:05, 23:35 22 Jump Street (15) 14:05, 16:25, 18:45, 21:00, 23:20 The Nut Job 3D (U) 14:15, 16:20, 18:30, 20:45, 22:45 Begin Again (12A) 14:15. 16:25, 18:40, 20:55, 23:10 Planes: Fire & Rescue (U) 14:15, 18:50 Lucy (15) 14:20, 16:35, 18:50, 21:15, 23:30 Hercules (12A) 14:20, 16:30, 18:45, 20:55, 23:05 Into the Storm (12A) 14:20, 16:25, 18:45, 21:00, 23:10 The Inbetweeners 2 (15) 14:20, 16:30, 18:50, 21:10, 23:30 Venus in Fur (18) 14:20, 16:35, 18:40, 20:50, 23:00 Guardians of the Galaxy (12A) 14:30, 18:20, 21:10, 23:45 The Expendables 3 (12A) 14:30, 18:20, 21:05, 23:40 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (12A) 16:10 Sex Tape (15) 21:15, 23:30 Empire Cinemas Bugibba Tel. 21 581787, 21 581909 Lucy (15) 11:05, 13:30, 15:30, 18:00, 20:55 Guardians of the Galaxy (12A) 13:35, 18:30 Guardians of the Galaxy 3D (12A) 11:00, 16:00, 21:00 The Expendables 3 (PG) 18:00, 20:45 The House of Magic (U) 11:00, 13:30, 15:30 Into The Storm (12A) 11:10, 13:30, 15:30, 17:45, 20:50 THE Texan director Richard Lin- klater has long since transcended the 'indie' cinematic sub-culture which he's often associated with, paving the way for a career that is both authentic and successful: a none-too-common blend in the contemporary film landscape. One reason for this lies in the fact that in a lot of ways, Lin- klater isn't just a proponent of American indie cinema – ow- ing to landmark films from the 90s like Slacker and Dazed and Confused, he is American indie cinema: an oft-imitated auteur whose loose approach to narra- tive structure appears to channel both the French New Wave and the early films of Jim Jarmusch, but who lends a distinctive sen- sibilit y that has since been taken up by the likes of Kevin Smith, along with countless other – and inferior – imitators. Linklater's charming and dis- armingly honest micro-tales of young people growing up in the American suburbs went down a treat during the Age of Grunge: cementing the disaffected 'slack- er' as a key trope of modern American cinema and inspiring an entire generation of up-and- coming filmmakers with his DIY aesthetic. But commitment is another – and equally inspiring – element of Linklater's success. As he proved with the Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy-starring real-time- romance trilogy Before Sunset, Before Sunrise and Before Mid- night, Linklater is willing to go the extra mile to keep it real. Letting his characters age along with his actors, Linklater charted Hawke and Delpy's fictional rela- tionship over a number of years, presenting us what is arguably one of the most raw and realis- tic – while also unremittingly charming – depiction of a rela- tionship over the years. His sensational latest feature takes this commitment to lon- gevit y into maximum overdrive. First commencing production in 2002, Boyhood has only just reach us not by dint of any pro- duction hurdles, but because Linklater deliberately wanted to show his protagonist, Mason (El- lar Coltrane) grow up on screen: he is six-years-old when we first meet him in the film's opening shot, and 18 by the time the film ends. But instead of swapping ac- tors around as is traditional, Lin- klater opted to make Boyhood in little drops of few weeks each every year from 2002 to 2013: consistently using the same cast for more than a decade, with a special focus on Mason's coming- of-age story. What follows may not be the earth-shattering masterpiece that critics have crooned in uni- son about over the past month or so – Linklater's films are some- what 'slack ' by definition and his refusal to impose a strict narra- tive structure may be charming to some but irritating to oth- ers, especially over a three-hour span. But the film is an undeniable tour de force that is affecting and, as always for Linklater, sen- sitive to the intricacies of human relationships and the quiet bat- tles we face on a day to day basis. It's also the story of a family, with Mason's mother Olivia (Pa- tricia Arquette), his sister Sa- mantha (Linklater's own daugh- ter Lorelei) also having a stake in the story, along with their shared-custody dad Mason Sr. (Ethan Hawke). Linklater's best films care little for plot twists and gimmicks to rivet the viewer's attention, and Boyhood is arguably his bravest gamble on that front. To say that the story is entirely free of incident would not be en- tirely true. There are a couple of upsetting incidents that shape Mason's childhood. But instead of being milked for melodrama or overwrought psychological exposition, they ultimately re- cede into the background as life simply goes on. Linklater is brave because he embraces banalit y instead of try- ing to escape it. Though Teenage- Mason is the kind of bohemian outsider t ypical to a large chunk of Linklater's oeuvre, overall he's just normal enough to be relat- able across the board. There's something to be said for the film's title being borne out a tad too literally. Though Arquette gives a career best performance and imbues her put-upon single- mum character with nuance and pathos, Mason's sister Samantha largely plays second fiddle to his quietly burning coming-of-age epic. That the film would be intense- ly focused on Mason's experience was made clear from the outset, of course, but perhaps we should ask ourselves whether we need yet another story of masculine growing pains, no matter how well crafted or committed to its premise it may be. At the end of the day however, the film is above all the ultimate representation of Linklater's artistic programme. Much like the 'Before' films, it is great in large part because it is willed into greatness: its writer-director knows his characters inside-out, since he's put in the time to get to know them. And how. This is why Linklater has re- mained, more than anything, a humbling presence in Holly- wood. In a time when social media and relentless consumption of serialised entertainment has fried out attention span, and in which films are meant to simply piggy-back on well-established franchises, Linklater's long-form commitment to a single, simple idea is more than just an impres- sive oddit y. It comes close to being an act of collective cultural redemption. maltatoday, SUNDAY, 7 SEPTEMBER 2014 35 FILM IN CINEMAS TODAY By Teodor Reljic Keeping it real THIS WEEK ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ PRIME TIME ★ ★ ★ ★ OLD WINE ★ ★ ★ BEST OF TIMES, WORST OF TIMES ★ ★ AWKWARD PHASE ★ ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT Growing pains: Ellar Coltrane, age six in Richard Linklater's real-time coming-of-age story BOYHOOD (15) ★ ★ ★ ★