Thursday, March 05, 2015

Boyhood

BoyhoodThe Gist: Boyhood tells the story of a young boy who literally grows into an adult on screen, in front of our eyes.  The events affecting him and his family over time will have a profound effect on the man he becomes.

The Bottom Line: Recorded over 12 years by Richard Linklater, this very ordinary story makes for a very unordinary viewing experience.  Time itself becomes one of the characters, as the players slowly age, but while at first one is intrigued by it, by the end you’ve forgotten and simply adapted to it.

Recorded in bits over the years, Linklater really did pull off an amazing feat that had never been done before and likely will never be done again.  All the players do a good job, except maybe for Lorelei Linklater, who’s barely average and likely won’t have an extensive career in front of the camera (but being the daughter of such a great director, she’ll surely find other outlets in the movie business to unleash her creativity if she wants to).

Patricia Arquette, who won practically every award available for her role, including an Oscar, is a supporting player but ends up stealing every scene.  She’s really, very good.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that this movie was also nominated for a Best Picture Oscar and for a while there it looked like it was poised to win.  I have to admit that that would have been a stretch.  The movie is nice and in spite of it being very long, it flows and brings you along with ease, but I would hardly consider it the best movie of 2014.  I haven’t been to the theater much at all, but if there was nothing better than Boyhood then Hollywood is in real trouble…

Grade: 7

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