Boyhood is a 2014 film directed by Richard Linklater (Before Midnight, School of Rock) simply about a boy, Mason, growing up. It's a coming of age tale that was filmed over the course of 12 years with sections of each year of Mason's life being shown in the film.
We watch Mason, played by Ellar Coltrane, grow from the age of 5 to 18 in the span of 2 hours and 45 minutes. The plot is simple, almost so simple that it sounds boring but this film isn't about the plot, it's about the characters. Ethan Hawke (The Purge, Sinister) and Patricia Arquette (Boardwalk Empire) play Mason's parents with Linklater's own daughter Lorelei playing his sister.
Boyhood is truly a cinematic experience as we get to watch the entire cast grow older and once the film is ending you start to feel like these characters are a part of your family too. It sounds cheesy but being able to watch him and his sister interact when they're and when they're 16 gives you the feeling that you watched these kids grow up. Even Arquette and Hawke grow 12 years older and what makes this special is the true ageing of the characters.
I truly hope Richard Linklater wins the Best Director Oscar for this film because of the immense dedication this took to make. He even had a plan for how to finish the movie if he were to die over this 12 year production (Ethan Hawke would've taken over directorial duties).
The best part of this movie is its relatability, watching Mason grow up is like watching home videos of yourself growing as he goes through the same trials and tribulations that most of us have. What's surprising about this movie is how much I wanted to watch it again, I thought this would be more like Unbroken where I loved the movie but couldn't see myself watching it much more. This isn't the case with Boyhood, I watched the movie last night and threw it on again today, with how heavy and emotionally investing this movie gets, the fact that I wanted to watch it again so quickly is something special.
Replay Value: 4/5, like I said I'm watching the film a second time in a little under 24 hours, this may because I'm on somewhat of a high from how much I enjoyed the film the first time but I can see myself watching it again, quite a few times.
Rating: 4.5/5, a fantastic film that had I seen it before I made my Top 10 Movies of 2014 list, definitely would've made the list and possibly pretty high.
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