Practice Space

Boyhood is a labyrinth of self-doubt, the pursuit of imagined confidence, young romances, and the many complex struggles of everything all of this entails. Our two characters, Edwin and Steven, navigate it with an endearing charm, and in the process, without trying or consciously intending, simplify a complex experience, condensing it into something entertaining, amusing, and heartfelt.

The two may have no idea of how the world functions, but they are full of how it functions in their own individual realms, and there is no stopping them from using that as a manual for the situations life actually presents to them. While one of them struggles to ask out a girl, the other is trying to write and act, to overcome personal inhibitions. Essentially, both boys hope to move towards finding a way to express themselves before a world that seems alien and distanced, be it a crush or a theatre audience.

The film does a wonderfully effortless job of tying the two together. Additionally, the boys’ attempts to find a physical space to hang out with each other is an echo of the emotional space too that they seek, one where all of these uncertainties have been resolved. In the portrayal of all of this and some more, the film efficiently utilizes the chemistry of the two actors and presents a screenplay, as well as a final result, that is wholesome and balanced in a complete manner.