This is the kind of great movie that only comes along every so often.
If you follow movies, maybe you've heard of it. Richard Linklater's Boyhood, filmed over the course of 12 years, and released to thunderous applause. It's a film that may mean different things to different people, but which I guarantee will have some meaning to you. It's the kind of incredible film that will be remembered as a peak of the decade, and which will be discussed and cited for the rest of cinema's history as one of its greatest films.
Boyhood is a coming of age story. Generally, this carries the idea of being a story about coming of age, but Boyhood is a bit different. Boyhood is the coming of age itself, perhaps the purest cinematic distillation of a life to date. Mason Evans, Jr. (Ellar Coltrane) is the protagonist, but unlike in other films, nothing more needs to be said. What we see is his life, with all its hurdles, turmoil, and successes.
Dated from around 2003 to the present day of 2014, the years flow into each other in Boyhood's lifelike narrative. This gives a lot of nostalgia from a time period that is not yet popular to mine from, though if Boyhood sparks a huge wave of mid-2000s nostalgia, I wouldn't be surprised. Songs are used to identify the years, with occasional mention of films, music videos, and the like. This is never blatant, though. Songs fit naturally into the scenes, and pop culture references are never forced and always fit neatly and perfectly into the scene. This results in a subtle bit of nostalgia, something that will especially appeal to teenage and young adult audiences.
Mason is the main constant through all of this, but his mother, father, and siblings stay with him throughout the entire film, and his grandmother and first boss appear again as Mason transitions to college and moves out of his youth. These characters all appear as they would to Mason, but unlike in other stories, that doesn't result in much distortion. It's not like the characters only show characteristics Mason sees in them. They're still displayed plainly, if only when Mason would see them. However, every single character is woven in at just the right times, with just the right scenes, that they are seen through the lens of Mason's life.
Despite his status as main character, Mason is never treated as someone exceptional, as so many films do. His experiences, and those around him, are regular. These are things that may remind audiences of their own lives, or their own childhoods if they're beyond the age range that Mason grows through. Indeed, Boyhood is a masterpiece of relatability. Mason experiences parts of his life and feels emotions that likely have been felt by youths in the audience. He faces ordinary conflicts of being a child and of being a youth, alongside some that are somewhat less universal. For those who find kinship with Mason, seeing his life may very well be life-affirming.
Boyhood does not have a plot. For Richard Linklater, director of the "Before" trilogy, this is not a problem. In those films, Linklater simply created conversations, discussions on facets of love and life that were still full of wisdom and revealing about his characters. Here, he aims a bit higher. Linklater has created a life, and life doesn't have a set narrative. Life doesn't follow a three act structure, and thus Boyhood did not need a plot. It's Linklater's genius that simple, ordinary people are some of the best characters to appear on the big screen in years, simply by virtue of being so real, so lifelike, and so tangible.
In scope, Boyhood is colossal. Through so excellently depicting so many years, Boyhood is filled with text, subtext, meaning, and statements about the human condition, none of which necessarily fitting a specific core theme but instead being woven into the fabric that is the film's story. Each revelation is something that is seen or heard by watching Mason's life. This gives everything the movie says and uncovers fluidity. It never preaches, but it has so many things to say. Maybe this restraint is what makes the movie so real.
In conclusion, Boyhood is the best film of the year, and may be impossible to top even in the bound to be hit-studded awards season. So yes, this is another glowing review of Boyhood, but frankly, it's a film that deserves no less. It's immense, yet it never forgets about the individual moments. It is a movie that is almost lifelike, and which packs an emotional punch unlike any other. You should really watch it.
10/10
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