What’s Aged the Best?
Train settings; Jesse’s conversational bits; Hawke–Linklater collaboration; actor co-writing; Vienna; French-girl archetype; aging-with-the-characters sequels; Cemetery of the Nameless; June 1994 setting; lines about loss and connection
In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 00:53:35Read transcript
- Train travel and Jesse's rehearsed conversational theories are praised as central pleasures.
- Jesse's childhood story is connected to the later Boyhood, making Hawke and Linklater's collaboration feel continuous. — Chris Ryan
- The European train-pass experience is recommended as an enduring form of travel. — Sean Fennessey
- Casting actors who can write and letting them shape the characters is described as a sophisticated filmmaking method. — Sean Fennessey
- Vienna in summer and the film's French-girl archetype remain appealing.
- Sequels that let characters age in real time are praised as a rare, still potent device. — Bill Simmons
- The Cemetery of the Nameless is praised as an evocative place and idea. — Chris Ryan
- The story's June 16–17, 1994 dates place the farewell on the day of the O. J. Simpson chase, World Cup opener, Knicks-Rockets Game 5, Rangers parade, and Arnold Palmer's final U.S. Open round. — Bill Simmons
- The line about realizing how little an ex thinks about you is singled out as painfully universal. — Bill Simmons
- The film's claim that magic lies in trying to understand another person is treated as its central wisdom. — Sean Fennessey