The biggest film gimmick of the 21st century - but it worked. Boyhood walks through the youth and adolescent years of Mason Evans Jr. (Ellar Coltrane) from age six to eighteen. He goes through what every child has to while growing up - schoolwork and friends, problems with parents, moving and meeting unfamiliar people, relationships and breakups - just think about your adolescence. But he also experiences more hardship than the average kid, which adds some spice to the storyline. Through Mason's 12 years of both good and bad times, we enter a time capsule that allows us to reminisce on our own childhood.
When I had heard of this movie, what stuck in my head was, 'it was made over 12 years'. Surely I'm not the only one who was impressed by this fact. Not only is the length of time itself a surprise, but the risks of this journey are incalculable. Let's say any of the actors chose to walk out on the movie - that's the entire project from start again. However, they managed to get through it without noticeable difficulties. And not only is that praiseworthy - the actors in the movie did something for which they will be remembered for a long time. Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke star as the parents of Mason, and they do a tremendous job at it. For that period of time, staying in character is not easy - but to evolve as the character goes through its experiences is a task on another level.
I actually did not go to watch this in theaters when it came out, even though I had heard that "it's really good!" and was intrigued by the lengthy time of its making. To be honest, the reason I didn't go was the length of its making. I assumed that some people watched this movie with the 12-years-gimmick hype and overrated it, when in fact it is mediocre. I did not want to go through another Gravity: [Digression] I was excited to watch Gravity because everyone was telling me how amazing it was. They said that the special effects feel so real that no child will ever want to become an astronaut after watching it. Then I went to watch it - I was so bored I fell asleep during one of the supposedly-intense space scenes. Anyways, what I realized is that some people had overrated it simply due to the special effects, which I admit were good.
Back to Boyhood - months after it came out on theaters, I watched it on my computer and realized that this was not the same case as Gravity. The movie was "really good!" and didn't feel boring for the entire three-hour runtime. And the more I thought about it, the more shocking this fact was - let me tell you why. The way they filmed this movie was by shooting a few scenes a year and later combining it as a whole. Through a period of 12 years, a movie can begin to lose its focus, and editing that much footage can be daunting. However, the fact that they managed to produce an end-product that not only flows coherently but also completely absorbs the viewer is incredible.
As of now, some time has passed since my viewing of Boyhood, and the effect of the gimmick has worn off. I've come to realize something important. Imagine if, instead of 12 years, this movie took one year to make, with the child actors in each scene being different people. I highly doubt it would have gotten as much attention. The script itself is extremely ordinary - the characters are, more or less, quite common; the storyline is very basic. The only character I found unique was college-student Mason as he develops his own worldview. Considering this, it's surprising that I wasn't bored throughout the movie - but I think I know the reason. As I was watching, I knew that all the characters were played by the same actors throughout the entire movie. This got me curious as to how the cute children will grow up to become young adults. It's not necessarily the characters that left me intrigued. It's more the actors themselves - how their looks will change as they age. So the reason I wasn't bored cannot be attributed to the movie itself.
Finally, Boyhood is enjoyable to watch - once. When I was done watching, I felt the satisfaction I receive when a good movie is over, but I can say that I will never feel the desire to watch it again. This says something, because when I really like a movie, I want to watch it again and again until I get tired of it - and then watch it once more. It's like when you're listening to music and a song gets stuck in your head. You just have to listen to it until its out of your system. The day I watched Boyhood I also watched Whiplash and their difference is that the latter is stuck in my thoughts and will be for a long time. If you can enjoy Boyhood more than once, that's great - I admire you. But I can't.
8.5/10 - If you haven't seen it yet, you should.
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