Review of Boyhood (2014) by Ben T — 23 Mar 2016

Boyhood is one of those movies that was extremely hyped up when it came out. Throughout 2014 everyone talked about how amazing it was but as it got more popular more people seemed to turn against it, it didn't do as well at the oscars as expected and now it's kind of been a bit forgotten.

In my opinion Boyhood is a gimmick movie, the film pretty much embraces it's a gimmick but it's extremely well done. Boyhood is a very good film, it's not quite amazing and I don't think it's some new classic but it's good.

Richard Linklater did do a great job directing here as there isn't really a film like this and seeing our characters grow up and mature is great. This can't have been an easy film to make but Linklater pulled it off and the directing is the best aspect of the film.

The acting here is really good especially from Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette who are both great. Ethan Hawke is extremely likeable and I liked how at the start he was trying way too hard for his kids but by the end he became like a very mature and caring uncle and I thought he gave the best performance of the film.

Patricia Arquette won an Oscar for he performance here and it's extremely well deserved as she is great. She is very likeable again and you couldn't help but feel bad for her character as she was really sympathetic.

While the adult acting is great the child actors are a bit mixed. Lorelei Linklater starts of as very annoying and to be honest doesn't give a very good performance, but as she gets older she gets better until at the end she is really good.

However Ellar Coltrane is the exact opposite. When he is between 5 and 13 he's really good, even great. I was really impressed by him and thought he was great, but from about 14 onwards he just seems like he gives up as his acting gets worse and worse and it feels like Coltrane is just playing himself and not a character.

But that problem might be to do with Mason himself as even though he's the lead he's so bland and uninteresting. He goes from scenario to scenario with little interest presented and I didn't care about him at all.

As he gets older I just found him annoying as his character became very pretentious and annoying until by the end I couldn't care about him. While Coltrane's bland performance as he gets older is somewhat to blame I think the writing is most to blame.

The writing ranges from great to bad which is a shame as there are some brilliantly written sequences like Patricia Arquette's final monologue, but there's also so many boring sequences that makes the run time feel even longer.

Without a doubt the best handled sequence in Boyhood is the domestic abuse segment as I felt it was very emotional. You really feel scared for our characters and it was where I thought Coltrane gave his best performance.

There are also lots of emotional moments which hit bullseye and got responses out of me. As uninvested in the ending as I was it still got a brief emotional reaction out of me. I sound like I hate Boyhood but I really do like this film and I absolutely loved the first hour but the next hour and a half just can't match that quality but Boyhood is technically fantastic with great acting, directing and it's a brilliant unique movie experience.

It's not amazing and I feel it is quite overrated but I do enjoy this film and it is a few steps from great. B+.