Boyhood
The further and further away we get from the 2015 Oscars the more agitated I get over the Birdman win and can’t help but wonder what on earth voters were thinking during the time. Both films had a particular, gimmicky narrative to run with, but the difference is that Boyhood was more than just that. Emotional in ways that might seem surprising, it captures memories through a single song, a Harry Potter quote or long drive towards adulthood that all evoke visceral reactions, however small. Giving us a genuine photograph of the passage of time, the film is excellent from start to finish.
A Scanner Darkly
Waking Life aside, A Scanner Darkly has to be the most experimental film the filmmaker is ever tackled. Utilizing the rotoscope style of animation, the film takes deep dive into uneasy neurosis as characters reality begin to dissipate. A new drug has entered the characters world and with it comes the loss of identity and understanding of their worlds around them. Tonally opposite then just about anything else Linklater has done, the film is a quiet, psychological thriller.
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