Boyhood
(2014)Longitudinal, observational coming-of-age drama from Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused), claiming Best Director and Best Film (Drama) at the 2015 Golden Globes. The movie was made over 12 years, filmed in annual periods, watching the boy (Ellar Coltrane) - as well as co-stars Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette (who won the Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe for her supporting role) - age and change. Hawke described the unique production as "timelapse photography of a human being".... More
Opens with dreamy-eyed grade-schooler Mason (Coltrane) facing upheaval: his devoted, struggling single mom Olivia (Arquette) has decided to move him and older sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater) to Houston just as their long-absent father Mason Sr. (Hawke) returns from Alaska. Through a tide of parents and stepparents, girls, teachers and bosses, dangers, yearnings and creative passions, Mason emerges to head down his own road.
Ethan Hawke explained the ambitious project in 2013: "Linklater and I have made a short film every year for the last 11 years, one more to go, that follows the development of a young boy. I play the father, and it's Tolstoy-esque in scope. I thought the Before series was the most unique thing I would ever be a part of, but Rick has engaged me in something even more strange. Doing a scene with a young boy at the age of seven when he talks about why raccoons die, and at the age of 12 when he talks about video games, and 17 when he asks me about girls, and have it be the same actor - to watch his voice and body morph - it's a little bit like timelapse photography of a human being."Hide
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Best Supporting Actress (Arquette), Academy Awards 2015; Best Film, Supporting Actress (Arquette) and Director at the 2015 BAFTA Awards; Best Film (Drama), Director and Supporting Actress (Arquette) at the 2015 Golden Globes; Louis Black Lone Star Award winner, SXSW 2014
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Directed by Richard Linklater
Starring Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane, Lorelei Linklater, Elijah Smith, Steven Chester Prince, Bonnie Cross, Marco Perella, Libby Villari, Jamie Howard, Andrew Villarreal
Written by Richard Linklater
On Demand, DVD & Blu-Ray
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Flicks Review
BY Steve Newall Flicks Writer
Boyhood is a staggering cinematic achievement, all the more so in how readily you’ll lose yourself in this broadly sketched tale of a life rather than pick apart how it has been uniquely assembled. For twelve years Richard Linklater has been shooting episodically, striking gold all over the place in the process – most notably in the form of Ellar Coltrane, whose lead performance as Mason is what this ambitious project hinges upon.... More
Following Mason from childhood through adolescence, Boyhood doesn’t just capture this young man’s physical and personal growth, but that of the key figures that orbit him: separated parents (Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke); sister (Lorelei Linklater); and first love (Zoe Graham). While Arquette’s performance is a standout, Linklater conjures emotive, naturalistic performances from all his cast, so as the film works its magic and the years pass by, one can’t help but be captivated by the lives unfolding onscreen.
That’s all the more impressive with Boyhood, for the most part, avoiding making the obvious dramatic moves we’re conditioned to expect in film. One might anticipate seeing Mason’s emotional highs and lows unfold in traditional fashion, but more often than not these pivotal moments take place offscreen, the audience left to ponder the ripples they leave on Mason and his family across time. That this forward momentum is conveyed more through the years’ contemporary music and the physical changes of Boyhood’s cast is another contributing factor to the film’s unforced feeling as it moves along at a pace of its own. Linklater casts a spell that defies you to not be moved, and captures the incredible complexity, richness and emotion of every one of our unique lives in the process.Hide
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Boyhood
BY Gerd superstar
This is one of the most overrated films I've ever seen in my life. Painfully banal and monotone! Typical artyfarty blabla, new age I have to make myself intellectually impotent about nothing kind of movie. The perfect movie for those with a personal number plate I guess.
BY ememmama superstar
Quite a long film, but it doesn't feel like it! Loved this unique movie, some bits were funny and others were quite sad. The process of seeing the characters grow and change was something I've not seen before, and worked really well. The effort put into this film is well worth it and appreciated by the whole audience as far as I could tell!
BY PhilMoore superstar
BY Gaspardation superstar
The director Richard Linklater treats film more than just an art. In fact he has tried several tests in various forms of filming (like his BEFORE series, Scanner Darkly). The BOYHOOD is just his latest test with TIME. By shooting consecutively in 12 years, he has made the film plainly genious by the form itself.
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The Press Reviews
99%
of critics recommend.
Rotten Tomatoes Score. More reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time. Full Review
There's a rough-edged, organic quality that recalls the work of those European helmers Linklater so admires: Fassbinder, Bergman, Bresson. Full Review
What an astonishing achievement; what a beautiful movie. Full Review
Perhaps never has the long arc of the journey from childhood to college been portrayed as cohesively and convincingly... can be plain on a moment-to-moment basis but is something quite special in its entirety. Full Review
Extraordinary in form, ‘ordinary’ in content... ambitious, intimate and unforgettable. It might just be the apex of Linklater’s life’s work. Full Review
An extraordinary achievement — tender, funny, wise and wistful, full of warmth and humanity. Full Review
These are people you know, maybe people like you. Full Review
A fabulous movie experience... marked by simply wonderful performances. Patricia Arquette is stunning. Full Review
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