Boyhood [Film Review]

"Grow up, Mason."

So, I just saw Boyhood.

This, not Lost in Translation, is the definition of a film experience (though Lost in Translation is a good example).

The fact that a film was twelve years in the making obviously gives it some pointers to start with, but it doesn't make a great film. I mean, someone could have spent twelve years making some horrible film like Grown Ups 2, and it would have been a horrid waste of twelve years. But this, this is far from a waste. This is a beautiful, heartbreaking yet heartwarming work of art. This is rare. This is a truly great film. I mean, wow.

Throughout the film, I admit I had doubts. But you can't judge a film halfway through, a quarter of the way through, or even a minute from the end. And you especially can't do it without watching the final act (as some of my friends did with Gravity, which made me consider them as less intelligent than I did before). That especially applies to this film. I mean at points, you may even hate the main character of this film.

But that's part of this film. It's a beautiful portrait of life and growing up. It shows some dramatic changes in this boy's life. I disagree that this could be called girlhood, as one reviewer on this site stated, but it could very well have been called Motherhood or Fatherhood. So many characters are intensely explored. Instead of going for the dramatic, Boyhood goes for realism, and it makes the film enormously relatable.

On the technical style the film displays similar excellence. The soundtrack is made up of many classic songs, from The Beatles to The Black Keys, to Arcade Fire. And the cinematography is tremendous, using many long tracking shots, something Linklater became known for with his Before series.

The performances are magnificent, with Ellar Coltrane's outstanding twelve-year debut, Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette their usual fantastic selves, and a supporting cast which includes an actress from Bottle Rocket, which I continually pointed out to my brother ("I think that's the girl from Bottle Rocket. That's totally the girl from Bottle Rocket. That's her. Oh my gosh!").

Perfect as a full work of art, this goes down in my book as one of the best films ever. Though you all may hate me for saying it, I still think that The Grand Budapest Hotel is better. But that doesn't mean this is bad. Not even close. This was one of the most rewarding cinema experiences of my life. 2014 has proven to be a far better year than 2013 thus far, and I have another film to add to the five-star club and to my list of movies to buy.

Oh, and also. I advise everyone to SEE THIS IN THE THEATER. If you watch it at home or something you are bound to be distracted. THIS IS AN EXPERIENCE. WATCH IN THEATER. SERIOUSLY.

Oh, and I almost cried at a few points.