Review of Boyhood (2014) by Instrumental — 21 Feb 2015

This film follows the life of a boy from age six to his entry into college at 18. The movie is filmed such that the main character is filmed at age six and is continuously filmed over a 12 year span until he is 18.

A seemingly endearing concept however is ruined by the fact that him and his family are entirely unremarkable and they do absolutely nothing remarkable throughout the film. There is no engaging story arc, difficulty to overcome or goal to achieve.

For anyone who has lived a life of their own, this film has nothing to offer, no insights or revelations and certainly no entertainment. Certainly there is a reason why films aren't normally made about normal people living normal lives, it's because we live those everyday and don't need a theater or disc to see it.

The acting is poor as well. Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette do a fantastic job, but the acting roles especially from the children are inconsistent and forced. Much of the dialogue is awkward and out of touch with how youth used to talk as well.

With one liner 90s clichés scattered throughout. It's a subtly racist film as well. Despite being set in Texas, the one and only Hispanic character is first seen doing manual labor. This movie does have one notable aspect: Because this movie is nearly three hours and nothing notable happens at any point, it begins to drag unrelentingly about an hour and a half in.

This movie is however fascinating in one aspect: A movie can be made about unremarkable white people doing absolutely nothing remarkable for nearly three hours and still receive near unanimous praise, critical success and an Academy Award nomination.

Bravo white people, even the most unexceptional of you are truly are amazing.