BOYHOOD - Review

Boyhood

Drama, 2014
2 hours, 46 minutes
Written and Directed by Richard Linklater
Rated R for "language including sexual references and for teen drug and alcohol use"

Starring
Ellar Coltrane
Ethan Hawke
Patricia Arquette
Lorelei Linklater

"Life doesn't give you bumpers."

We go to the movies to escape from our lives. For just a few bucks and a couple of hours, we can immerse ourselves in fantastical and fictional worlds that have the ability to provoke certain emotion. We forget about our problems. We stop caring about our real problems and start thinking about the fictional ones on screen.

Films surrounding adolescence usually focus on a brief moment in the main character’s life. The story might revolve around a divorce, the loss of a loved one, or some sort of traumatic event. Films like these attempt to make a bold statement on the human condition. Some of these films might be close, but Boyhood is the only film to nail it right on the head. And it hits hard.

Boyhood follows the story of Mason (Ellar Coltrane), a young and ordinary kid. Mason has a younger sister, Samantha (Lorelei Linklater), a struggling Mom (Patricia Arquette) and an absent Dad (Ethan Hawke). The film doesn't have an exact story. It's just about growing up. Mason begins the film as a young boy and by the time the credits roll, he's a young man in college. He experiences happiness, fear, love, loss, failure, and success. The film is built of smaller stories that serve the theme of the film. Significant moments such as escaping a drunken step-father's home are juxtaposed with going to church on a Sunday morning, but every moment serves a purpose.

Boyhood is a grand experiment in filmmaking that pays off in an incredible way. The film was shot over the course of twelve years with the same cast. It may be an incredible experiment, Boyhood does something on an emotional level that most movies don't. It forces us to examine our own lives and how we move through different stages of being. Unlike most movies, Boyhood is about real people with real problems. It rarely feels staged. The film has a natural progression between the years. Soon enough, the inquisitive six-year-old is now a well-spoken adult.

Boyhood represents life at its core. If you're expecting an answer to the meaning of life, you won't find it here. The movie does not exist to teach us the meaning of life. It teaches how to appreciate it. We travel through life thinking we live in stages, yet we fail to appreciate the nuanced moments that define who we truly are. Yes, there are huge tent-pole moments that shape us, but it's the little things that we overlook that have huge impacts in our lives.

Boyhood is about life. It is sad, funny, awkward, and uplifting. It will cause many to examine their own lives and how the small things in life shape us, the small things that matter the most. Everyone will find something relatable in Mason and his family. This film is a masterpiece and will go down in history as one of the greats. It is the Casablanca or The Godfather of our time.

Boyhood is, perhaps, the definitive expression of what it means to be a human being. This movie is just, well... life. And that's all it needs to be.

10/10