Film Analysis and Legacy of Richard Linklater

This essay analyzes the film Boyhood directed by Richard Linklater, exploring its themes, production process, and critical reception. It also discusses the film School of Rock and compares the two films. The legacy of Richard Linklater as a filmmaker is examined, highlighting his naturalistic and humanistic approach to film direction. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of these films in the field of film studies.

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Film Studies

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Introduction
The essay is focused on the aspect pertaining analysis of the film “Boyhood”. The film is
directed by Richard Linklater. It would also imply the approaches made to cinematography
and film direction in the contemporary times. The disciplines related to film studies would
also be analyzed accordingly pertaining to the essay. The concepts pertaining to the
disciplines of film studies have garnered a huge support due to the various kinds of
approaches being undertaken by film directors and cinematographers with regard to the
derivation of the desired outcomes as far as appealing the required audience is concerned.
The different themes pertaining to the films are also taken into consideration as far as the
intention of the concerned film director or cinematographer is concerned (Rich, 2014). The
theory pertaining to the film “Boyhood” would also be taken into account accordingly. As a
result, it would imply the philosophy pertaining to the film “Boyhood”. The comparative
aspect would also be taken into account as far as the comparative analysis between the film
“Boyhood” and another film is concerned. Finally, an appropriate conclusion would be
provided in order to roll up in an effective and efficient manner. It would help in the
summarising of the essay in the desired manner thereby depicting the incredible comparison
accordingly.
Film analysis and legacy of Richard Linklater
The film “Boyhood” is focused over the aspect related to the growth a person from childhood
to adolescence accordingly. It also depicts the aspect pertaining to the plight of a child having
divorced parents. It has been filmed accordingly for a period of twelve years with regard to
the depiction of various stages of the child from the period of 2001 to 2013. The age range of
six to eighteen for the child has been depicted in the film accordingly. The script was
formulated simultaneously with the production of the film since the production of the film

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commenced in the year 2001 with an incomplete and unfinished script by Richard Linklater.
The life experiences of the actors were also taken into consideration by Richard Linklater and
subsequently included into the film accordingly as far as the formulation of the script in an
effective and efficient manner is concerned. It received a positive response from the audience
accordingly upon its release (Stone, 2018). Critics reviewed the film in a positive manner as
far as its appeal to a wide range of people is concerned. It is imperative that the film
“Boyhood” has attracted a huge number of people (Dargis, 2014). As a result, the film
“Boyhood” has played an important role with regard to the attraction of a significant audience
as far as the incredibility of its theme is concerned depicting various stages of a child. It can
be implied that it is loosely based on the initial stanzas of William Shakespeare’s poem “The
Seven Ages”. The eminent Canadian scholar and university professor Howard Adelman
stated that the film “Boyhood” epitomizes the character of Huckleberry Finn in the modern
times, one of the important characters of the popular American literary figure of the modern
times (Adelman, 2014). It has also received appreciations and accolades accordingly from
various film critics associations around the globe. The main themes pertaining to the film
“Boyhood” are quite ideal with regard to the approaches undertaken by Richard Linklater, the
one who directed and wrote for the film accordingly. Richard Linklater is quite naturalistic
and humanistic in nature as far as film direction is concerned with regard to the themes
pertaining to realism in his films depicting various stages of life of sub-urban people. As the
film “Boyhood” has been shot for a period of twelve years, it implies the same actor being
inducted into enacting of the role of the character depicting the stages of life accordingly.
Such an aspect is also incorporated in another series of films directed by him which include
Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight. The key aspect of his films imply the
narrative themes involved as far as the series of the chain of events pertaining to the films are
concerned. As a result, he has carved a niche of himself in the disciplines pertaining to

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filmmaking. In an interview with David Johnson, Richard Linklater has stated that he is
passionate about making sequential films which depicts the growing of children and their
adulthood with regard to the life of a family (Johnson, 2012). As a result, it is imperative that
the film “Boyhood” depicts the realistic narrative aspect as far as the theme is concerned. The
changes observed by Richard Linklater in each of the actors for the film “Boyhood” was
incorporated in the final script of the film in a simultaneous manner so as to ensure that the
shooting and production of the film is completed in an effective and efficient manner as far as
its release in a timely manner is concerned thereby attracting a huge number of people as
planned. Right from the primary stages of life to teenage and adolescence, the film
“Boyhood” depicts the ideal characteristics of a person depending on the respective stages of
life. The role of the main character whom the film “Boyhood” revolves around is the
popularly acclaimed actor Ellar Coltrane. The role depicting his sister is played by Lorelei
Linklater, daughter of Richard Linklater. The aspects pertaining to walking and talking are
displayed by the characters of the film “Boyhood”. Such aspects are deemed to be quite
common with reference to the films of Richard Linklater. The aspect which sets apart
Richard Linklater from other film directors is the emphasis upon the dialogues of the
characters in the film as far as expression in an incredible manner is concerned. The film
“Boyhood” also depicts the University of Texas located at Austin, the place where the
director Richard Linklater is based. It has been voted as the best film of 2014 by the
international movie magazine Sight and Sound. As a result, Richard Linklater was listed as
one of the most influential people of the world by the Time magazine in 2015. It is basically
a fiction depicting realism which is quite common as far as the themes of Richard Linklater’s
films are concerned. The film Raging Bull has played an extremely important role with
regard to the influencing of Richard Linklater as a director in an effective and efficient

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manner as far as the aspect of filmmaking is concerned thereby leading to the direction of
various films with common themes.
School of Rock
The film “School of Rock” is also directed by Richard Linklater. It is mainly based on
comedy theme as far as the depiction of an ideal high school is concerned thereby depicting
realism to a certain extent. It is based on the aspect pertaining to a guitarist who has been
removed from his musical band thereby disguising as a new teacher in a primary school. It
leads to the formation of a school band when the guitarist observes the talent of the students
with regard to music. The band is named “School of Rock” as far as the competition
pertaining to the Battle of Bands is concerned. The film also depicts the advent of a school
program known as “School of Rock” with regard to its incredible performance at the Battle of
Bands. It attracted a huge number of people like Boyhood thereby leading to a critical
acclaim in an incredible manner accordingly. It also received various awards and nominations
as far as comedy is concerned. It is popularly known as a coming of the age musical comedy
film and depicts creativity and innovation on part of Richard Linklater as far as filmmaking
and film direction are concerned. It had a huge influence thereby leading to the television
network channel Nickelodeon to launch a television series known as “School of Rock” which
comprised of three seasons. As stage musical known as “School of Rock” has also been
released accordingly after the buying of the rights by the popular music composer Andrew
Lloyd Weber. There are a plethora of songs incorporated in the film “School of Rock” taking
account of the aspect pertaining to its musical theme. Many of the songs ended up being
chartbusters. Overall, the film “School of Rock” performed averagely in the Box Office.
However, in terms of comedy, it ended up as the highest grossing film of its time, most
notably in the United States of America and Canada. The main aspect observed from the film

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“School of Rock” implies the winning over people despite all odds pertaining to the
circumstances as depicted by the main character whose role is played by Jack Black in an
incredible manner thereby implying the ideas and schemes which are off the traditional
aspect as far as doing things differently from the society is concerned accordingly. It also
implies the aspect pertaining to innovation and creativity, one of the main aspects of the
director Richard Linklater. It also depicts the importance of music amongst primary school
students as implied from the storyline of the film which depicts the musical talent of primary
school students as far as fourth graders are concerned. Jack Black was nominated for Best
actor in the category known as Comedy or Musical. However, the award was eventually won
by the eminent comedian actor William James Murray who is popularly known as Bill
Murray. The film “School of Rock” is an incredible example of the work undertaken by
Richard Linklater in terms of musical comedy. People who are passionate about music and
comedy are expected to find this film extremely interesting as far as entertainment is
concerned. The film has also played an important role with regard to the aspect pertaining to
music in schools thereby leading to the influencing of the making of the film high school
musical as far as the themes are concerned. A sequel for the film was also considered as
stated by the lead actor Jack Black. However, the idea of the sequel eventually was cancelled.
It is therefore, imperative that the legacy of the film is incredible.
Comparative analysis
Both “Boyhood” and “School of Rock” have been directed by the eminent American
filmmaker Richard Linklater. They both depict certain real aspects of life even though they
are completely fictional. Both of them also depict the life of school children as implied by the
themes accordingly as far as education is concerned at the school level. However, there are
various themes in the films which are quite different from each other. Additionally, the film

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“Boyhood” took twelve years to complete whereas “School of Rock” was shot and
subsequently released within a short span of time accordingly. The film “Boyhood” depicts
the growing up of a child with divorced parents in a span of twelve years thereby depicting
the different stages of life from the age of six to eighteen. On the other hand, the film “School
of Rock” depicts the life of guitarist who has been removed from his band and in order to
make a living an pay off his rents, disguises himself as a substitute teacher and eventually
forms a band comprising of the students as far as the emphasis over their talent in terms of
music is concerned. The main theme of the film “Boyhood” is based on family drama
whereas the main theme of the film “School of Rock” is based on musical comedy.
Additionally, the film “Boyhood” has won more awards and has been nominated more times
in comparison to the film “School of Rock”. Furthermore, the film “School of Rock” has
influenced the release of a stage musical and a television series of the same name whereas
there is no significant legacy with reference to the film “Boyhood”. The film “Boyhood”
revived more critical acclaim than the film “School of Rock” as far as ratings are concerned
with regard to the reception by wider audience accordingly. However, both the films played
an important role in the incredibility with regard to the aspect of film direction of Richard
Linklater. The film “Boyhood” performed in the box office in an incredible manner thereby
generating a huge amount of revenues upon its release whereas the film “School of Rock”
performed in the box office at an average level. However, the film “School of Rock”
emerged as the highest grossing film of its time in terms of comedy. As a result, the
comparison of the films “School of Rock” and “Boyhood” is justified and appropriate
accordingly.

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Conclusion
As implied form the aforesaid analysis, it can be concluded by stating that the aspect reated to
film direction and filmmaking is justified and appropriate. The analysis of the film
“Boyhood” has been carried out in an incredible manner thereby implying the stages of a
child from the ages of six to eighteen. The analysis of the film “School of Rock” has also
been carried out in the desired manner. The interview of Richard Linklater with David
Johnson has also been taken into account thereby implying the approaches of the film
directors and filmmakers of the contemporary era in an incredible manner. The comparative
analysis of the films “Boyhood” and “School of Rock” has also been carried out accordingly
with regard to the analysis of the different themes involved in the films in an incredible
manner accordingly. As a result, the approach of Richard Linklater with regard to the
direction of films has been delved into in an incredible manner accordingly thereby implying
the rationale behind the making of the films in the desired manner as far as the favourable
outcomes are concerned. In a nutshell, the discourse has presented the sciope and opportunity
for future research and enthusiasts to carry out analysis pertaining to the disciplines
concerning fil studies as far as comparative analysis between films is concerned accordingly.

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Reference List
Adelman, H. 2014. Movie Review: Richard Linklanter’s Boyhood. [online] Howard Adelman.
Retrieved form
Dargis, M., 2014. From Baby Fat to Stubble: Growing Up in Real Time. New York Times, 10.
Johnson, D.T., 2012. Richard Linklater (Vol. 146). 4th ed. Champaign, USA: University of
Illinois Press.
New York Times, 2015. Anatomy of a Scene: Boyhood. [online] New York Times.
Retrieved form
Rich, B.R., 2014. The Right Time and Place: Richard Linklater's Instant Epic. FILM
QUART, 68(1), pp.42-47.
Stone, R., 2018. The Cinema of Richard Linklater: Walk, Don't Run. 6th ed. New York:
Columbia University Press.