"Very brilliant, a little erratic, embattled quite often. She suffered."
Director Richard Linklater was describing his mom, Diane, who was a college professor, but he could easily be talking about the title character of "Where'd You Go, Bernadette," his new comedy/drama that he dedicated to his mother's memory.
"She passed away when I was in rehearsals, but I think she knew I was making it and my mom kind of permeates the movie. When I first read the book, I thought, for all of Bernadette's wackiness, she does remind me a bit of my mom," says Linklater, whose films include "Before Sunrise," "School of Rock" and "Boyhood."
"I never doubted my mom's love and support for myself and my sisters but, yeah, she would occasionally run away from home. It sounds scary to some people, I guess, but that was just part of our lives."
Bernadette (played by Cate Blanchett) also runs away in the film, presumably to give herself time to figure out her next step. With daughter Bee (Emma Nelson, in her film debut) about to leave for boarding school, should she return to the architecture career she abandoned? Meanwhile, Bee is positive her mom will return.
"While we were making the movie, some people were like, 'Bernadette is getting rid of her phone and she's not telling Bee where she is,' but the bond is so deep that Bernadette knows she's not abandoning her daughter," says Linklater. "And you see Bee sticking up for Bernadette. She has a full-time supporter in her daughter, and that was how I felt about my mom. She was very strong, among her inconsistencies and problems."
The five-time Oscar nominee's mother isn't the only family member reflected in the film. A scene in which Bernadette and Bee sing along to Cyndi Lauper's 1984 hit "Time After Time" got him some nudges during an early screening of "Bernadette."
"My daughters and I sing it in the car all the time, so that was sort of an Easter egg for them. When they saw the movie, sitting next to me, they both squealed," says Linklater. (Older daughter Lorelai played Ethan Hawke's daughter in "Boyhood.")