Boyhood

Every once in a while a film comes along that shakes up the industry.

One that is so memorable that even on your dying day, you might reminisce about it.

One that is so exquisitely designed that you wonder how someone was so genius to create it.

Every once in a while we are given a film that truly, truly affects us.

It is my personal opinion that Boyhood is NOT that film.

If professional critics were to be believed, Boyhood is slowly becoming the "best movie ever". It's score on Metacritic as of the date of writing this is a perfect 100...greater than the likes of classics like The Godfather, Citizen Kane, and many, many more. Despite these ratings, I went into Boyhood with a critical eye; I tried to not let hype get in the way of my judgment, which, I'll be perfectly honest, happens more often than I would like it to.

The critics don't necessarily have it wrong...Boyhood is truly a tremendous film. It's expertly crafted, fun to watch, and poignant. I can see how some would regard it as a classic. But for me, it's praise stops at it being a really good movie.

Ethan Hawke in particular is shocking to watch
perform as he was the most famous of the cast
over the last 12 years

Richard Linklater has always been known for providing us with well-made, real films about life. Unfortunately (and I know this eats up some of my credit as a critic here), this is my first film of his that I have seen. If you are unfamiliar with this film, you're most likely not alone as it is experiencing a limited release right now. I was drawn to it both because of its high scores, but also because of its fascinating experimental nature. You see, Boyhood has actually been in production for 12+ years. Linklater chose a group of actors, created a story (maybe not in that order), and has been filming segments of the film over the course of the last 12 years. In that regard, Boyhood is truly a groundbreaking film and just thinking about the complexities of pulling something like that off is a bit mind-blowing in its own right. And I think, if we're being honest, that it's this highly unique and experimental nature of the film that has so many critics drooling over it. Make no mistake, I was beyond impressed with that attribute to the film, but as a wise man once said, "Clever technique does not a classic movie make!"

"And then Mr. Rath became super rich and drove an Aston Martin
and lived happily ever after!"

So yes, the sheer epicness behind Boyhood is impressive. Also superior to most films are the performances. Naturally with child actors, there are some stiff conversations that feel semi-recited, but really by the second hour (out of nearly three), this is no longer an issue. Hawke, one of Linklater's favorites, is superb and is given some meaty dialogue as the every-other-weekend dad that actually ends up being a strong father figure. Personally, I was blown away by Patricia Arquette. I've never been super familiar with her acting, but she is easily given the toughest job in the film as an often single mother struggling to make ends meet for a majority of the film. If there was one character that was the single most convincing, it was hers.

Ok Mason, we get it. You're full of angst.
Now would ya stop with the emo swoosh?

But realistically this movie is called BOYhood so the film is centered around Ellar Coltrane as Mason. It's startling seeing him grow up right before our eyes and there is often no indication between scenes that time has passed. It just...sort of...happens. Which, looking back, I guess is some of the beauty and message of the film; time passes us by without us even knowing it. Anyway, Coltrane is superb as a child actor and as a young adult. I found his middle-school-aged scenes to be the poorest, but that's just when compared to the rest of the bunch. It took 12 years of his life but I'm pretty sure he's just put himself on the map with regards to being an up and coming actor.

There are several more members of the cast and they all do well with what they are given. I thought Lorelei Linklater (Richard Linklater's real life daughter) had a fairly undefined character as the daughter of the family. She does excellent in her scenes, but I felt that the tone and attitude of her character, Samantha, was somewhat of an afterthought when compared to the rest of the family.

In the spirit of heaping on praise, the film also has a golden script with several lines that really just stick with you. It gets a bit heavy-handed when Mason starts spewing conspiracies and "Are you high?" epiphanies, but most of the time it's on point. There is a certain nostalgia factor along with this too...Britney Spears, digi-pets, Harry Potter, and many other staples of recent childhood all make appearances to make you feel all warm and bubbly inside. From a cinematic standpoint, the shots provided to us are well orchestrated and the editing is consistent. The soundtrack was also expertly hand picked, and quickly became one of my favorite aspects of the film.

By now you're probably wondering what that first paragraph was all about. So, after giving all the praise I have to give for the film, allow me to know explain my opinion as to why I don't agree with the professional critic masses. Boyhood is very much a film about experiences, and every person will relate to it differently. Personally, growing up, I had a nice, comfortable childhood with little drama or hardship. I might not have thought that at the time, but compared to the rest of the world, I had it easy. Hell, I still do. Boyhood takes the mundane of life, along with it's small dramas, and makes it into a three hour film. This is both one of its greatest achievements as well as part of its faults, at least in my eyes. The film is, quite simply, about growing up. It begs us to remember times and experiences that we have had in our own lives in order to help us relate to this core group of extremely normal characters. Given that I haven't had the tribulations of an abusive father, or of drinking in high school, or of a constantly-working mother, I personally found it hard to relate. In short:

I haven't lived enough of my life to fully grasp the film that was presented to me.

It's a revelation that took me greater than 24 hours to come to and it's not one that I arrived at easily. Because I personally can't relate to Boyhood on a consistent basis over the course of three hours, I think I sought it's faults more than most. Periods of time pass without the audience knowing and we are left guessing when in time it is, the mother's choices in men are consistently terrible, but the film unfairly leads us to believe that they are stand-up guys from the get go, some scenes in the film just flat-out weren't necessary...mundane can be fascinating, but not for three hours, and I found that at the end of the day, all we as an audience really did was watch this superbly-normal family grow up before our eyes. There is certainly a magic in that, but I was also left feeling like there had to be something more.

I graduated high school. Does that mean I'm supposed to connect
with this scene? Possibly...

As the dust from my review settles, I should have my readers know, if they don't by now, that Boyhood is a HIGHLY personal film. It will speak more to others than it did to me and I imagine that it will speak immensely higher to those who have children or have had children. I urge my readers to go see it, not because it is a perfect film (which it's not), but to experience a film that will keep you thinking long after the credits roll and maybe even participating in a little self-reflection. 

Boyhood isn't the end-all, be-all film as other critics would have you believe, but that doesn't make it any less special in both its presentation and its message.

CONS:

• No matter which way you look at it, the film is centered around the mundane...around normal life. Some scenes mask this well and in others it is painfully obvious that nothing is happening
• Samantha's character is inconsistent
• The movie tricks the audience into believing that the men that the mother begins dating are fantastic guys when in reality they have significant dark sides
• I couldn't shake the feeling at the end that nothing really happened
• There are jarring time shifts. They are in order, yes, but I found it hard to keep up with how old Mason was for much of the duration of the film

PROS:

• Linklater's attempt to film over the course of 12 years is truly what gives the film its magic. Seeing these people, particularly Ellar Coltrane, grow and age before our eyes in the midst of this story is remarkable
• A highly intelligent and real script. It has a lot of important things to say
• The film will speak to everyone in a different way. Some may get more out of the film than others
• Nostalgia of the early 2000s
• The film is much funnier than I was expecting
• Well-picked soundtrack
• The story revels in the normalcy of life. At times that can be really refreshing, especially in a summer filled with robots, apes, and mutants
• Just a well made piece of film from a technical perspective
• It's a film that, while I may not have been as blown away as some, will make you think about it days after you leave the theater

Rath's Review Score: 8.5/10