Can I keep up?

We have another fun week of grandparenting coming up. We are in Sharon, and tomorrow Maya will return with us to New York. Maya is almost 6 now. She is bright and inquisitive and generally a very happy girl. The rare moments when she reminds us that she is, in fact, only six years old, are reserved for the sole benefit of her parents. With us, she is a charming angel. In fact, when I think about whether I can “keep up” with Maya, I do not mean physically (although this is always a concern), but rather mentally. She thinks about things, asks lots of questions, and really absorbs the explanations. You can just see the wheels turning in her head. Before long I suspect that I will be going to her with questions!

Meanwhile, we needed a little down time so we snuck out to see the newly released film written and directed by Richard Linklater, “Boyhood.” This film, which received a 99% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, traces the life of a family over 12 years beginning when the young brother and sister are about 6 and 8 years old. Rather than producing the film with a series of actors of varying ages, the film was shot over a twelve year period with all the same actors, both the children and the adults. The parents were played by Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette, and the children by Ellar Coltrane and Lorelei Linklater (a daughter of the screenwriter/director).

The project was certainly a risky one. How could Mr. Linklater be sure that the children he selected for those roles would continue to be credible actors as they went through their difficult teenage years? There are many examples of children who are terrific in films or television shows when they are young, but seem to lose something as they age. A recent example is the character Luke on “Modern Family,” played by Nolan Gould. As a little boy Luke was adorable, but as an adolescent he has become rather awkward and much less endearing. My guess is that it was some combination of skill and luck that the main child in “Boyhood,” who is a young boy at the beginning of the film and a college freshman at the end, was a good enough actor to continue to be quite a believable character throughout.

It is a long film but definitely worth seeing if you have a chance. Barry read somewhere that this film needs to be seen a few times to really absorb and appreciate the details. It will almost assuredly make its way to television and it will be worth watching again.

We ended the day with a family barbeque (minus Joshua, who returns from camp tomorrow). It rained on and off through the afternoon but fortunately stopped long enough to cook outdoors. Dina prepared a bunch of grilled vegetables and also grilled pineapple. I need to get that recipe – it was really delicious!

We have a busy week ahead with Maya. Stay well.

Love,

Rebecca