Connections (a word on Mike Nichols)

Human relationships seem to be governed by specific and unknown laws of entropy, which dictate the rhythms of bodies coming together and drifting apart, very much like the physical particles assembled in their bodies and minds. November 19th of the current year marks the departure of one these macro particles. This is not an obituary (dear lord, far from that) for Mike Nichols, but a brief reflection about the work of someone that seemed to me to be interested in exploring some of the aforementioned laws.

Boyhood (Richard Linklater, 2014)

“What is the point?”

This question, as old as human nature, ties up the movie in a colorful damp bow. Posed so many times, answered in so many different ways, Boyhood is Richard Linklater’s attempt of both interpreting the question and provide for a non-answer to it. The setup is rather trivial: Mason Jr. (Ellar Coltrane) is the central character of a dispersed and nomad family, with a father (Mason Sr, played by an ever childishly charming Ethan Hawke) infrequently present (and his “replacements” come and go), always jumping from place to place, home to home, with his mother (Olivia, Patricia Arquette) and sister (Samantha, Lorelei Linklater). We follow the childhood and teenage years of Mason Jr. as he deals with the pains of growing up and figuring out… let’s say, “stuff”.