In a blink of an eye

At first glance, Boyhood seems like an odd film; it took 12 years to make and basically follows the life of a boy from when he's 5 up to when he's 18. There's no hidden political agenda, there's no antagonist, and there's not much of a plot. The intriguing aspect about Boyhood is that is it the same boy actor growing up throughout the whole film. It's a complicated film to review: basically, we as the viewer are witnessing a boy's life transverse over 12 years in just under 3 hours. Honestly, up until this point in my life, I've never seen a movie quite like Boyhood. There is a story in the technical sense and I only say this because it's mainly watching the kid go through a change or event for every year of his life up until he turns 18; each year of Mason's (Ellar Coltrane) life lasts about 10 to 15 minutes long. The simplicity of watching Mason as he matures and grows into a young adult is actually its greatest strength and it is what makes Boyhood stand out from every other film released before its time. Mason's life and the events he goes through are parallel to just about anyone's childhood. Whether it's the person who grew up with divorced parents, the one that had an annoying older sibling or the person that wasn't sure what direction he was looking for in his life, there are so many moments in the film that a person could say "I've been through that before." It resonated with me just as much as any person who had a childhood. The experience of growing up as a kid is a memory that all of us cherish and director Richard Linklater achieves the rare feat of capturing that experience in his film. Boyhood is a unique and joyous film and one of the best of 2014.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                        -Reviewed by Razor, 1/23/15