Review of Boyhood (2014) by Owen H — 03 Jun 2016

Filming the same actors over 12 years to show them ageing in real life is what made Richard Linklater's Boyhood famous. However the film is far more than just a clever idea, it is a phenomenal film literally about growing up. It is an engaging, funny, moving and relatable masterpiece that explores childhood and parenting in great depth.

The film has no real plot in the normal sense of the word, it simply follows Mason Junior (Ellar Coltrane) from the ages of 6 to 18. His life evolves naturally and realistically, there is no great drama or plot twists, it is simply conveying real life, which it does perfectly. The jumps in time are unannounced and irregular, instead they are shown by how the characters look and the setting. This results in the feeling similar to seeing a friend or relative after a long time, where things have changed but there is still a great sense of familiarity. Although Mason is the focus, we watch his sister (Lorelei Linklater), Mum (Patricia Arquette) and Dad (Ethan Hawke) grow and change in their own ways, making the film much more than just a tale of 'Boyhood'. The cast is the real strength of the film, Arquette and Hawke are undeniably superb and the child actors, including the many side characters, are exceptional throughout. This is an accomplishment that should not be overlooked, casting very young actors that need to have the skill to remain talented throughout is incredibly hard, as shown by the Harry Potter franchise and, to some extent, Modern Family. With their talent and the pitch perfect script, the film manages to explore and tackle themes and issues that in less skilled hands would come off as overly sentimental or irksomely quirky.

One of these themes is nostalgia, something that is challenging to do without appearing like you are trying to get a cheap emotional reaction from the audience. It is handled expertly. It is not trying to shove a toy or popular song down your throat shouting "remember this??" Instead the film is simply using the music, clothes, Gameboys etc that were around when it was filmed in a completely natural way. It feels like 2002 because what you're seeing is 2002. This is yet another example of how Linklater's idea and hard work really paid off. Had the same script been shot in one go using makeup and different actors to portray the ageing process it just would not be as effective or moving.