Boyhood · written by Richard Linklater · 2014

Olivia jokes with Mason about selling the house and shedding the belongings and obligations that keep her overwhelmed.

Scene 127 of 160 · ≈ 2 min on screen · Act three

Mason
Mom

Act oneAct twoAct three

Begins 2:13 into a 3:02 film

The story so farBefore scene 127

As his mother’s homes and relationships change, Mason grows from a restless child into a young photographer learning to choose his own direction before leaving for college.

Scenes 1–11
Mason’s world is a child’s local orbit of school, siblings, play, and a family not yet displaced.
Scenes 12–23
The move exposes Mason’s wish to keep his friends and stay connected to his absent father while Olivia seeks a more secure life.
Scenes 24–74
Mason enters successive new family arrangements: Dad’s return, Olivia’s marriage to Bill, and finally escape from Bill’s house.
Scenes 75–123
He adapts to new homes and schools, tests independence with friends and work, and develops an eye for photography.
Just before
Scene 124
At a party, Mason drinks and talks with Sheena while Samantha socializes with a boy and Nick plays drums.
Scene 125
Mason tells Sheena he wants to do what makes him feel alive instead of appearing normal; she shares the pressure people feel to meet others' judgments.
Scene 126
Jim confronts Mason for coming home late and says his role paying the bills gives him authority; Mason tells him he is not his father.
Scene 127
This scene

127INT. MOM'S HOUSE - DAY

Mom sits at the kitchen table surrounded by bills and papers. Mason comes down the stairs.

MASON

Morning.

MOM

Morning. Hey, which one of you guys

used the downstairs bathroom last

night?

MASON

I don't know. I didn't.

MOM

That tall guy, what's his name?

MASON

Phillip?

MOM

Yeah, Phillip. He did it. Can

Phillip read? I mean, there's a big

sign on the door, it says, "Do not

use this bathroom, it's broken." I

mean, how difficult is that?

MASON

I don't know. I'm sorry.

Mason prepares cereal.

MOM

I think I'm gonna put the house on

the market.

MASON

Why?

MOM

This house is too big for us. I

mean, you're going to school

eventually... It's too expensive.

I'm done.

MASON

Well why did you even buy it in the

first place, then?

MOM

Because I really enjoy making poor

life decisions, keeping us on the

brink of poverty. I mean, I've spent

the first half of my life acquiring

all this crap and now I'm gonna spend

the second half of my life getting

rid of all this stuff.

MASON

Really? Like what?

MOM

Like - Well, I got rid of a couple

husbands, now I'm gonna get rid of a

mortgage, some maintenance, the

tchotchkes, the, the homeowner's

insurance, the property tax, the