Boyhood - Review

In 2002 Richard Linklater announced and began filming a project so exciting that fans of the ‘Dazed and Confused’ director blew out in joy with a potential masterpiece in the works, only to fizzle out with anticipation as the years passed. However, like a fine wine age only adds to the flavor and this is surely a film that will be remembered as one of the greats.

12 years in the making and finally we have the product and masterpiece which is ‘Boyhood’ a journey through the struggles of being young, realistic family approaches and generally the tribulations of growing up. Linklater brings us a film like no other digging into life’s deeper questions evolving the usual happy families into something a little more realistic. At some points the film can be brutally realistic in crushing dreams of the ‘perfect family’ however, it’s not all sunshine and lollipops, the dark clouds still reign upon us, no matter how much we try to forget. Ellar Coltrane delivers an insightful performance as he creates a believability that draws the audience into his characters life that almost makes you feel as if you have grown up with the character himself. The film does a fantastic job a creating a sense of illusion, so much to a point where you feel visually dragged into the picture to a point where you second-guess your awareness and whereabouts.

The film delivers a special piece of nostalgia throughout the years tying in key pieces of musical relevance bundled into a soundtrack that will take you right back to that special point in your lifetime, especially with a sassy 7 year old rendition of ‘Opps I did it again’.

Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke deliver a direct representation of a split family to who help tie in the dark ties within the film. Having the film span over 12 years, it is interesting to see that the actors were so dedicated to a film, which for 12 years of filming only spanned 2 hours and 40 minutes. Although the runtime is somewhat dragged out, you would expect nothing less in order to get the source material represented well, and represented right.

Without destroying the brilliance of the film with spoilers, all I can say is that it is in fact a film that is sufficiently haunting and enchanting all at the same time. Linklater has definitely delivered a masterpiece with this one and is not to be missed.

I give this film a 8.5/10

Reviewed by Mase Shaw - Follow Mase on Twitter @MaseShaw