NobodyReally
Superstar
So I saw this movie yesterday called Boyhood, so I thought I'd share my thoughts on it here just in case anyone is considering it.
Boyhood is a movie directed by the Richard Linklater and its about a boy named Mason (played by Ellar Coltrane) who grows up with his sister, Samantha (played by Lorelei Linklater- the director's daughter) and mother (played by Patricia Arquette). Mason's mom has an estranged relationship with their father (played by Ethan Hawke), so the kids don't really see much of him for the first part of their lives. The mother marries again, and the birth father shows up to try and start a new relationship with his kids. Things seem to be going well until their stepfather's dark side emerges, forcing them to leave.
Without giving the entire plot away, this movie chronicles Mason's journey from childhood to adulthood. It shows how his mother's choices, his father's attempts at parenting, and his own actions shape his development. Going in, I really had no idea what this movie was about or how it was shot. So I was shocked to find that they used the same actors over 12 years of filming to show this boy's development. 12 freakin' years!
That's pretty impressive. But after that gimmick wears off, you're left with an uneven, sometimes drab and aimless, sometimes compelling and funny slice-of-life flick. I think that was the point though. Its a film that's supposed to mirror life, the good, bad, and mundane. I'm just not sure I'd recommend it to anyone. It wasn't bad really, but it wasn't particularly good either. Just unique in the way it was shot. And for a film that's 2 hours and 45 minutes, I'm not sure that's enough.
Boyhood is a movie directed by the Richard Linklater and its about a boy named Mason (played by Ellar Coltrane) who grows up with his sister, Samantha (played by Lorelei Linklater- the director's daughter) and mother (played by Patricia Arquette). Mason's mom has an estranged relationship with their father (played by Ethan Hawke), so the kids don't really see much of him for the first part of their lives. The mother marries again, and the birth father shows up to try and start a new relationship with his kids. Things seem to be going well until their stepfather's dark side emerges, forcing them to leave.
Without giving the entire plot away, this movie chronicles Mason's journey from childhood to adulthood. It shows how his mother's choices, his father's attempts at parenting, and his own actions shape his development. Going in, I really had no idea what this movie was about or how it was shot. So I was shocked to find that they used the same actors over 12 years of filming to show this boy's development. 12 freakin' years!
That's pretty impressive. But after that gimmick wears off, you're left with an uneven, sometimes drab and aimless, sometimes compelling and funny slice-of-life flick. I think that was the point though. Its a film that's supposed to mirror life, the good, bad, and mundane. I'm just not sure I'd recommend it to anyone. It wasn't bad really, but it wasn't particularly good either. Just unique in the way it was shot. And for a film that's 2 hours and 45 minutes, I'm not sure that's enough.
