Boyhood (2014)

Name: Boyhood
Director: Richard Linklater
Released: 2014-06-05
Duration: 166 min

mattCR · Apr 25, 2014

A film that took 12 years to make. Using a child cast at 6, and following him for 12 years of his life, filming just a little bit each year every year for 12 years.
I've read the story following this and I was really looking forward to it.. the trailer is out now, and I'm hopeful this film really works.

If nothing else, it's a piece of cinema history as a truly one-of-a-kind film.

Steve Tannehill · Apr 25, 2014

Just saw the trailer. I am intrigued.

Patrick Sun · Jul 7, 2014

I want to check this out, but I have to wait until early August before it hits my town.

Perhaps they'll do "Adulthood" and cover his life from 18-30.

Michael Elliott · Jul 8, 2014

I'm really curious about the making of this film and I'm sure the insurance was impossible to get. Taking 12 years to film something is dangerous for a number of reasons including the fact that any of the main cast members could have died in that period. I'm curious to know if they had a "plan" if one of the main actors died in year six or what they would have done had the kid simply decided not to continue with this thing when he hit age 10. Not to mention his parents could have pulled the plug at anytime and I doubt a court would force him to continue to shoot.

Adam Lenhardt · Jul 9, 2014

This is one of those concepts that I'd always said I'd pull off myself if I ever have 20 or 30 million dollars lying around to bankroll a motion picture.I'd heard about this and wanted to get a glimpse, so a big thanks Matt for embedding the trailer.Richard Linklater's daughter Lorelei plays the main character's sister Samantha. So she too grows up before our eyes over the course of this film.

Patrick Sun · Jul 10, 2014

So this could be the most expensive home movie ever...

Bob Cashill · Jul 10, 2014

Linklater's daughter wanted to be killed off at a certain point but that didn't happen. The boy is a professional actor who stuck with it. It's very good.

Tim Glover · Jul 10, 2014

For some reason I got a little lump in my throat watching that trailer. Whoa. Time to up the meds.

Joel Arndt · Jul 10, 2014

There's a very good interview about Boyhood with Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke in the latest issue of Esquire. I want to see it not only for the uniqueness of shooting it for 12 years, but the story sounds good as well.

Vic Pardo · Jul 10, 2014

Can you imagine the conversation that would have ensued if Linklater had sought funding for this film from Roger Corman?

Corman (Pointing to a wall of film cans): "500 films here and each shot in five days or less and they all showed a profit and you want to take twelve years?!"

Simon Massey · Jul 13, 2014

Saw this over the weekend - best film of the year so far IMO and one that sticks with you. The titleIs misleading as this is as much about all the members of the family as the central boy and all the relationships he has with them and it's captivating watching the actors age. There is no special way of reminding us, they just age from scene to scene but it all feels perfectly natural and Linklater just simply presents snapshots of family life that could come from anywhere. But the presentation really makes you feel how fleeting childhood and parenthood is and how quickly time passes. The only bit I didn't like is the final epilogue - he had a perfect moment to end it (with a beautiful song heard in the trailer) but there is a little bit more that feels unnecessary. Still an absolute classic IMO.

Simon Massey · Jul 13, 2014

Someone else said this in a review and I agree that despite the technical achievement in shooting this over 12 years, the film is so absorbing that this is almost an irrelevancy although I do think that seeing the actors ages, especially the children, is an important part of the experience.

Simon Massey · Jul 13, 2014

The song I refer to, which certainly left a tear in my eye at the end

Tim Glover · Jul 15, 2014

Looks like I'll be watching Boyhood this weekend.

Mark Booth · Aug 4, 2014

PHENOMENAL film! There are Academy Award worthy performances everywhere in this movie, not to mention the film itself. If this doesn't win Best Picture, I'll be very surprised.

On Rotten Tomatoes, it is currently the highest rated film of 2014! The Booth Bijou gives it 6 out of 5 stars!

Yes, I loved this movie!

Mark

Tim Glover · Aug 4, 2014

Sure wish this was playing near me!

Simon Massey · Aug 5, 2014

Glad some others have got to see it - its a shame that films like this can't break out in the blockbuster dominated multiplexes - surely one screen would suffice ?

I really hope this manages to maintain its profile and be nominated for some awards. Id give it Picture and Director right now, and a Supporting Actress award for Arquette though Im sure there will be equally deserving films in the next few months.

The only thing working against the film right now is the expectation level has risen dramatically since its release. But then I guess that can only encourage more people to go an see it. The only other film I can thing of comparing it to are films like the Dardennes brothers "The Kid with a Bike", not for the plot, but for the feel and tone of the film and the focus on character. But then the unique structure of Boyhood make it difficult to compare with anything to be honest. The best description I can come up with is it felt like watching a genuine fractured remembrance of what childhood is to an adult when they look back.

TravisR · Aug 9, 2014

This just opened near me this weekend and it's fantastic. The movie isn't just some gimmick of having shot for 12 years- it's a really wonderful movie.

Patrick Sun · Aug 10, 2014

I'd rather folks see this film without much knowledge of the "plot" per se, as the film, ambitiously shot with the same core group of actors over a 12-year span, does a fine job of recounting the vibe and narrative prism of one's "Boyhood" memories of Mason as he makes his way towards adulthood from childhood, with scenes detailing touchstone events, along with inter-familial scenes amongst a fractured family, and somewhat extended family at times.

Richard Linklater, along with his core crew, deserves a lot of credit for maintaining focus and narrative trajectory of the story, literally waiting years to see it to fruition. It's not the most special-effects-laden film you'll see at the theaters this year, but perhaps one of the most human stories you'll see in a film, with the feeling of real time passing, because it did, and the time jumps are deftly edited and cut from one scene to the next, not as jarring as you'd think the cuts would be from the time hops.The inter-generational dimension this film offers is quite haunting in spots, there's a term from Buffy the Vampire lore, called "I'm not done baking", and with a film like this, you seamlessly see bits of the baking process happening throughout the film until its conclusion.I give it 3.75 stars, or a grade of A-.

Adam Lenhardt · Jan 10, 2015

I finally caught it today via Redbox Blu-Ray, and really enjoyed it. It's fascinating watching the world change, these characters change and their relationships change. Even though there aren't any title cards or anything, you still feel the passage of time in ways you just don't in movies that try to simulate it.

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Boyhood (2014)

R.I.P - 4.28.2015

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