Boyhood

I was nervous going in because I wanted Boyhood to be good. In fact, I wanted it to be spectacular. I've been a fan of Richard Linklater's career since I watched Before Sunrise (a viewing of Before Sunset quickly followed) back in 2010. His ability to capture an experience, a culture, a generation, and a life and translate it into film in such a way that is utterly beguiling, yet doesn't feel manipulated is staggering to watch. News of Boyhood reached me around this time last year, and before I knew much about it, I was hooked. A film from Richard Linklater about a young man growing up around the same time I did? And 12 years of filming were dedicated? It was going to be spectacular. So much for nothing in life being certain.

Allow me, if you will, to avoid the part where I colorfully unpeel Boyhood's dynamics, hinting along the way how well it fairs against everything I've seen. IT. IS. UNBELIEVABLE. The script, the execution, the profoundness, and seamless integration of time are nothing short of astonishing. Subdued in nature as it may be, Boyhood is a vivid, captivating, all-consuming assault on the senses. Not only that, there is a deep seated quality to everything it does. And the viewer is absolutely at the core of the experience. Each element has been created and tuned to allow you to express yourself anyway you wish. And that amazing focus has produced a breathtaking film.

From a technical standpoint, it's everything I've come to expect from Linklater, only finished to a higher standard. Boyhood is a film about life. The script has no rising action, climax, or falling action. There is no plot driven by a narrative driven by a goal. Nothing feels manipulated. Linklater's directing is level-headed and controlled, with quick cuts to whoever is talking and a lack of camera motion for a truly first-person omniscient feel. You are observing, but not fully knowing. And the cinematography... was there even a cinematographer? Boyhood's sets look so painfully boring because everything looks so natural, the background fades and allows 100% of your focus to be on the characters.

Despite a silent car ride home and very much conducive analysis, my brain is STILL buffering from the mind-blowing quality of it all. I wonder how I will view my words when this high subsides. My final scattered thought is this; The best moments in film are when it comes across something; a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things that you'd thought was special and particular to you. And here it is, set down by someone else, a person you've never met. And it's as if a hand has come out and taken yours. That is what Richard Linklater has done. Boyhood is a great film. More importantly it's a great film from Richard Linklater. Maybe even the greatest. and his career is here to stay.

If this film is not a miracle of sorts, then, I don't know what is. Time is the plot, yes, and it overtakes without us noticing when or how and the next stop is "my f"%&ing funeral" Patricia Arquette gives "Boyhood" its palpitating heart. It reminded me and confirmed that the future is female and that Patricia Arquette is one of the greatest actresses that ever lived. That incident with her Mexican laborer and its consequences (I don't want to give away too much) are one of the many gems this miracle of a movie exposes. Ethan Hawke, heartbreaking, funny, enormously real and then, Lorelei Linklater, beautiful, unique. Ellar Coltrane...where do I start here? I hope he knows that the truth and beauty of his creation, touched, transformed and enlightened anyone who came to meet you with an open heart. Firstly and lastly, Richard Linklater...he's been a hero mine for a long time but now, he's in a place that I reserve only for him. Artist, adventurer, explorer, storyteller, miracle worker. His film, for us who look from the outside, is a hymn to family, friendship, loyalty and cinema. Thank you sir, thank you all.

For some people including myself you tend to be able to relate to a lot of the events in Masons life as he continues to age. The nostalgia that these relations create can bring both good and bad memories up and impacts like no other film can. I have to say a lot of the tough situations mason had to endure (drunk stepfathers) I can really relate to and I could feel the strong intensity in some of those moments. However not everyone has these same experiences and thus not having that nostalgic effect.

So basically your enjoyment of the film is really all a matter of how much you can relate to it. Heck at one point in the film Masons journey took a different turn than what mine did thus ending the ability to relate and from there I could see why some people hated it but the way I looked at it to enjoy it was that either way I was watching the life of this person and being given the opportunity to see this new perspective.

When I lost the ability to relate with Mason on his journey i started to almost dislike him for certain things for some reason. When I watched this film I didn't feel like I was watching a movie I felt like I was going through life with Mason. Others may not be able to do that but I was fortunate enough to experience it like this.

In conclusion this is a really love it or hate it type movie. If you can relate to some experiences it can be very enjoyable but for others it can seem very boring and pointless. I can really see both sides but I definitely enjoyed the film and In those final credits I nearly teared up because I just realized what I had experienced. This is hard to explain but if you understand then you obviously get what I'm saying. I hope you don't waste 165 minutes of your life I hope you experience this film the same way I did if not more so. I hope what I said is helpful thanks for reading my review.

'Boyhood' has a very unique and intriguing concept, in fact there has not been a concept like it (with taking 12 years to make and being encompassed over 12 years as well). But that is not the only selling point of the film, despite what the detractors have unfairly said.

Granted, 'Boyhood' is not for all tastes, although it was almost unanimously praised by critics the IMDb reviews are much more divisive. This reviewer totally understands why people dislike, even flat out hate it, and shares some of their criticisms, and generally hates the incredibly condescending way they have been expressed, nobody who legitimately liked 'Boyhood' for perfectly valid reasons wants to feel that it is a criminal offence to like it, let alone love it.

Does this reviewer think it is quite as good as the hype and critics say? Not quite. Does she think it is a very good, conceptually daring and in some ways misunderstood film, and towards the better end of the films released in 2014? Yes. It does have its problems, it is a case of two inconsistent halves with a great emotion-filled, honest, nostalgic and richly developed first half and a second half where the pace slackens, the story meanders and there are moments of awkwardness.

Ellar Coltrane's performance is also uneven, he is excellent in the first half with a real sense of honesty and integrity, where the protagonist is much more interesting and likable, but rather stilted and not as involved in the second half. The editing is also choppy in places and although a vast majority of the performances are fantastic Lorelei Linklater is somewhat dull as Samantha and would never pass for Mason's sister.

However, aside from the editing 'Boyhood' looks very accomplished with evocative production values and is beautifully filmed. Richard Linklater directs with a real generosity and lightness of touch. The script honest, poignant, thought-provoking and sometimes harrowing, and while not everything about the story works it has a real sense of nostalgia and richly rewarding in its emotional content. Really do not agree that nothing happens, it has a long running time and is deliberate in pacing but this reviewer really loved 'Boyhood's' understatedness, sincerity and subtlety as well as its spontaneity.

Characters are interesting and developed, especially Ethan Hawke's and Patricia Arquette's. Hawke and Arquette are also the standouts in the cast, and deservedly garnered Oscar nominations which Arquette won. Arquette is particularly outstanding, with a genuine fullness of emotion and authority with no sense of over-acting or self-indulgence. Hawke also gives a compelling real performance.

In conclusion, a very intriguing and very good film. Not quite as good as it's hyped to be but it has many more merits than the detractors lead you to believe.

While the criticisms are understandable, this reviewer is having a hard time believing that there are those who cite 'Boyhood' as the worst film they've ever seen, or one of them. There are far worse out there, that are amateurishly made, ineptly directed, terribly acted and written even worse, distinctions that regardless of whether you hate it 'Boyhood belongs nowhere near in any of them. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Impressive for its technical achievement, and an enjoyable film, if only for seeing something that has never been done before. I came away not feeling I had learnt much about myself though and I was expecting to from such a profound filmmaking journey.