Movie Review-vie: Boyhood

I have changed somewhat over the past few years. I used to be able to sit down and watch movie after movie and I just can't anymore. It takes a lot to hold my full attention for the length of a movie but as soon as the introductory Coldplay song began to play I had a feeling that Boyhood was going to be worth the near three hour long running time. The 166 minute length is totally justified as it follows the life of one boy, Mason, from the age of 5 to the age of 18. The special thing is that instead of replacing the child actor with a slightly more pubescent lookalike then a bearded lookalike, it features the same actors for the entire movie - and it was 12 years in the making. 

The journey is written and directed by Richard Linklater (creator the unforgettable School of Rock) who filmed his actors for a few days every year, ultimately tracking their physical growth while superimposing onto it a poignant fictional journey of emotional growth and questioning and restlessness and experimentation  - which essentially, equates to the experience of adolescence. 

I found it so special as every few scenes Mason and his sister Samantha (and all the other characters for that matter) were a few years older in appearance. It made you grow a true attachment and gave you that nostalgic feeling not unlike seeing your 'baby' cousin for the first time in a year only to find his voice has broken and his baby fat is nowhere to be seen. It may seem that a storyline this strung out would seem disjointed, but it flows beautifully and really resonates nicely with true life. Not all loose ends were tied up in a neat little bow, there were some parts that left you unsatisfied but in the back of my mind was a little voice saying 'ah well, that's life'.  People weren't always better off, no character was perfect, it wasn't all sunshine but it wasn't all gloom either. I found the dialogue so casually real and it made for such easy viewing. Absent was the angst and extravagance of typical coming of age dramas and what was left were the smaller moments - Mason's relationships with those around him, the advice he is given, his frustrations and his fears - more so than his first kiss and his prom night. 

It reminded me of why I write a journal, in that once the film had finished I immediately wanted to 'flick back' through the storyline and see him as a 5 year old again.

-B

*Mosaik does not take credit for any of the images used in this article*