In 2002, screenwriter and director by the name of Richard Linklater approached six-year-old Ellar Coltrane’s parents and enquired if he might would be available for a long-term project. Over the course of the next 12 years, Linklater and Coltrane worked together on a project that would be hailed by critics as one of the bravest ventures in recent cinematic history – Boyhood.
The film won Best Film, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actress at the New York Film Circle Critics Awards . However, the movie failed to storm the Oscars, picking up only one award from the nominated six, which was Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role – claimed by Patricia Arquette who played Coltrane’s mother in the film.
Boyhood follows the life of Ellar Coltrane’s character – Mason, from six years of age, through to the beginning of university. The film has come under fire from some critics for its supposed lack of plot, while others have said that’s exactly what makes the film beautiful. Boyhood is grounded heavily in social realism, and sought to put real human emotions under the spotlight, ultimately highlighting destructive relationships some engage in, our relations with our siblings, and our ever maturing perspective on life, to name a few. If anything can be taken from the story, it’s that there is weight, mass and conflict in nothingness – something filmmakers the world over often miss.
With a performance that drew comparisons to a young River Phoenix in the coming of age classic Stand by Me, the dexterity displayed by Coltrane at such a young age has provoked high acclaim and even higher expectations for the future. Coltrane has also recently started modeling work, so it seems likely his handsome face will be seen as top billing on movie posters in the coming years. During the course of the filming for Boyhood, a project that has dominated much of Ellar’s life and career, he also worked on other movies, most notably Fast Food Nation, also with Linklater.
Having claimed the Rising Star award at the Capri Film Festival last year, in addition to a string of other accolades off the back of Boyhood, Coltrane is set to continue climbing the steep and slippery Hollywood ladder, and is currently working on a science-fiction drama with director James Ponsoldt called The Circle, alongside Tom Hanks, Emma Watson, and John Boyega.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=W04aXcyQ0NQ
Originally published October 27, 2015. Updated November 12, 2018.
