Starring: Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Lorelei Linklater, and Ethan Hawke
Directed by: Richard Linklater
Screenplay by: Richard Linklater
A film 12 years in the making. Now, that's a long time to make a movie, and yes, it is worth seeing!!
This is the story about a young boy, Mason (Ellar Coltrane), and his life as he grows up until he goes away to college. The film follows his whole family from the time he is about six years old to the time he is about 18 years old. He must navigate a life with his sister, Samantha (Lorelei Linklater), his divorced parents (Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke), while his mother remarries twice and his father comes in and out of his life.
For the two hour and 45 minute duration of the film, we watch as everybody grows up, even the adults. We watch as everybody matures over time and grows both individually and as a family unit, even though the family units change throughout the film.
I don't know if Richard Linklater knew where he wanted this film to go when he started filming this movie 12 years ago. It is truly remarkable that this film was shot over 12 years. Boyhood is an innovative film in that the audience is literally watching someone grow up. In many movies that take place over such long periods of time, the actors change, but this time, the actors didn't change, and it is the lack of changing actors that makes this film so special. It is not easy to see at the beginning of the film, but by the end, all of the characters in the film have a special bond, perhaps because the actors created a special bond among the filmmakers as well as each other throughout the filmmaking process.
What's nice about this film, even though it's called Boyhood, we watch as Samantha grows up along with her and Mason's parents. Mason is the main character of the film, and we watch him grow up the most closely, but everybody develops throughout the film. Perhaps because of this, Boyhood is not the most suiting title for the film. Perhaps calling it "Growing Up" might have been better, but the name Boyhood is still very fitting.
Being a 20 year old at the time this film was released, some of the pop culture references, or some of the other entertainment that Mason and Samantha are into throughout the film brought back memories of my own childhood. The film sticks close to the time that each particular segment was shot. That also helps audiences figure out that the film is progressing, because there aren't title cards to tell us that the film is moving between years of Mason's life.
This is an important film for anybody who feels any bit of nostalgia for their childhood. While the film is two hours and 45 minutes long (it feels like five hours when you're watching it), there is not a second of it that is not entertaining. So far, this is my absolute favorite film of 2014 and I cannot recommend this film enough!! Boyhood is by far the must see film of the year and you will not regret seeing it!
I give Boyhood an A+. If this were IMDB, I would give it a 10/10, but this isn't so you'll just have to settle for an A+.
Directed by: Richard Linklater
Screenplay by: Richard Linklater
A film 12 years in the making. Now, that's a long time to make a movie, and yes, it is worth seeing!!
This is the story about a young boy, Mason (Ellar Coltrane), and his life as he grows up until he goes away to college. The film follows his whole family from the time he is about six years old to the time he is about 18 years old. He must navigate a life with his sister, Samantha (Lorelei Linklater), his divorced parents (Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke), while his mother remarries twice and his father comes in and out of his life.
For the two hour and 45 minute duration of the film, we watch as everybody grows up, even the adults. We watch as everybody matures over time and grows both individually and as a family unit, even though the family units change throughout the film.
I don't know if Richard Linklater knew where he wanted this film to go when he started filming this movie 12 years ago. It is truly remarkable that this film was shot over 12 years. Boyhood is an innovative film in that the audience is literally watching someone grow up. In many movies that take place over such long periods of time, the actors change, but this time, the actors didn't change, and it is the lack of changing actors that makes this film so special. It is not easy to see at the beginning of the film, but by the end, all of the characters in the film have a special bond, perhaps because the actors created a special bond among the filmmakers as well as each other throughout the filmmaking process.
What's nice about this film, even though it's called Boyhood, we watch as Samantha grows up along with her and Mason's parents. Mason is the main character of the film, and we watch him grow up the most closely, but everybody develops throughout the film. Perhaps because of this, Boyhood is not the most suiting title for the film. Perhaps calling it "Growing Up" might have been better, but the name Boyhood is still very fitting.
Being a 20 year old at the time this film was released, some of the pop culture references, or some of the other entertainment that Mason and Samantha are into throughout the film brought back memories of my own childhood. The film sticks close to the time that each particular segment was shot. That also helps audiences figure out that the film is progressing, because there aren't title cards to tell us that the film is moving between years of Mason's life.
This is an important film for anybody who feels any bit of nostalgia for their childhood. While the film is two hours and 45 minutes long (it feels like five hours when you're watching it), there is not a second of it that is not entertaining. So far, this is my absolute favorite film of 2014 and I cannot recommend this film enough!! Boyhood is by far the must see film of the year and you will not regret seeing it!
I give Boyhood an A+. If this were IMDB, I would give it a 10/10, but this isn't so you'll just have to settle for an A+.
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