Boyhood Takes Storytelling to Another Level

One of the unique things about film is its ability to show the passage of time in ways other mediums cannot. 

Many filmmakers before have used film to chronicle the lives of characters over numerous years and decades. Francois Truffaut did this with his protagonist Antoine Doinel, and Richard Linklater did it beginning with Before Sunrise in 1995 and ending with Before Sunset in 2013. 

In Boyhood, Linklater has done it again. In a production lasting over a decade, Linkater has taken a cast, and filmed a little bit every year, finishing after 12 years. 

In this film, the audience witnesses the growth of the protagonist from a six-year old boy into an 18-year-old college student. You also get to watch the maturing of his parents, his sister and the world around him. It is an outstanding cinematic achievement that paints a portrait of life that is imperfect yet always resonant. 

Boyhood follows life through the perspective of Mason Evans Jr., played by actor Ellar Coltrane, child of divorced parents, who are played by actor Ethan Hawke and actress Patricia Arquette. The film begins with him at six years old, living in Texas with his mother and his sister. It continues to follow his life as he moves from his home to Houston back into a small town, through high school and finally off to college. 

The film is shot entirely from his perspective, and through his viewpoint you see his mother putting herself through college and getting re-married. You also see his father take more responsibility and become more of an adult himself, and you see Mason’s older sister go through her childhood along with him. Meanwhile, Mason also changes throughout the years, experiencing many of the small moments that make up a life and beginning to develop his own identity. 

By the end of the film you feel as if you know many of these characters, as you have just lived a large part of their lives through Mason’s eyes. 

The wonderful thing about Boyhood is that its method of filming is not just a gimmick. It is fascinating to watch these actors age and grow older during the span of the film, but the film never flaunts this fact. Instead, it continues to tell the story as the years progress. 

The only clear way to tell when a year has passed is when Mason’s haircut changes, along with the subtle process of aging. Eventually you stop thinking about how Boyhood was made and just watch what’s onscreen. The film doesn’t try to be epic; its story about the lives of these people is made up of seemingly insignificant moments and interactions.

 You still get to see a few milestones, such as the first move or the first day at college. It’s these small moments that tell how these characters have changed and who they are becoming. The film’s scenes are very well acted by its cast, especially by Coltrane, who holds the film together with his decade-spanning performance. 

So does it always work? Well, no. Boyhood is very good, but I don’t think it’s a masterpiece. It is, out of necessity, very long at two hours and 45 minutes. Because of this, there are times in the film that drag along more than others. Not every scene is as interesting as the best parts of the movie. And there are too many times when the film aims for melodrama and heightened emotion instead of going for real truth, such as the introduction of alcoholic stepfather. These scenes aren’t done badly, but their tones seem too highly charged to fit in well with the rest of the film. 

Boyhood isn’t a landmark film, but it’s a perfectly disciplined portrait of a childhood and family. At its best it’s charmingly tender and filled with characters you can believe are real. 

Despite its few flaws, it remains a remarkable feat and a very good movie about an imperfect boyhood.