Boyhood (2014)

Director: Richard Linklater
Stars: Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke
Runtime: 165 minutes

Synopsis: The life of Mason, from early childhood to his arrival at college.

Verdict: Life is a collection of milestones. It’s a series of moments, whether big or small, happy or sad, that define our journey on Earth, and eventually the person we grow up to become. It’s a complex jigsaw puzzle, an experience filled with both frustrating and satisfying instants that only starts making more sense as the larger picture begins to reveal itself.

With a production process that lasted 12 long years, Richard Linklater’s “Boyhood” is a sincere testament to these moments, all captured in real-time as we witness Mason, played by Ellar Coltrane, grow up right before our eyes. In less than three hours, we watch him morph from a six-year-old child into a fully grown adult, getting ready for his first year of college. A reminder from Linklater that time can be a misleading instrument and that years can go by in the blink of an eye.

Much like most children who grew up in an environment similar to his (including yours truly), Mason’s life was a roller coaster of emotions where the only constant was a family made up of his older sister Sam, played by Linklater’s own daughter Lorelei, his mother, portrayed by a phenomenal Patricia Arquette, and, to some extent, his father, played by the always wonderful Ethan Hawke. The bond he develops with those three characters allows us to have a peek at his growth from their eyes, a very welcome switch in perspective that highlights their respective roles in his journey towards independence.

I could go on talking about this film for hours, discussing Mason’s difficulties to adapt to his parent's divorce, the awkward conversations he and his sister had with their father, or the difficulties he encountered when it was time to figure out what he wanted to do for the rest of his life, but I suppose that the best way of experiencing all of that is by watching the film and relating to it in your own way. It genuinely feels like you’re watching a family’s honest home videos, showing the good memories but also the bad ones with only a few instances of overdramatization.

“Boyhood” ends with the following lines, which I’ll borrow to conclude my muddled thoughts on it: “You know how everyone's always saying seize the moment? I don't know, I'm kinda thinking it's the other way around. You know, like the moment seizes us.”

FINAL GRADE: 9/10