Life Itself: Boyhood.

You can watch my youtube review HERE!

To me there are three different types of movies:
1) Movies - made for entertainment.
2) Films - have weight, importance and quality.
3) Experiences - go beyond being something you watch and become something you experience.
Now a movie can be any combination of these but Boyhood is something else...Boyhood is life.

Written and directed by Texan auteur Richard Linklater, Boyhood was filmed across twelve years (2002-2013) making it a truly unique production for a non-documentary film. Linklater has dabbled in filming over years with his Before trilogy (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight) which filmed each movie at nine year intervals but with Boyhood he filmed for one week every year for twelve years. The film stars Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette, Lorelie Linklater (the director's daughter) and Ellar Coltrane as Mason, the boy of Boyhood.

Boyhood follows Mason (Coltrane) as he goes from the first grade to the start of college and with it comes a representation of life that we can all relate to even if you haven't experienced the exact situations. Though it has no plot what Boyhood is able to recreate perfectly are the feelings and experiences we have through out life and I have to say that I felt all their love, pain, laughs, hopes, dreams and doubts; several moments I have actually experienced especially having grown up as a child with separated parents. It is impossible to experience this movie and not be taken back to memories of your life; even moments you forgot you even had.

Linklater comes to film with all his mastery of the medium and makes his greatest film yet (closely followed by the fantastic Before trilogy). The performances are fantastic with Patricia Arquette being the stand out and of the film. The kids a good but once Ellar Coltrane turns fifteen his performance does dip in quality; though this can be seen as a negative it is in no way false because even though it's not a great performance it rings true (I know several people that are just like how he is). I also know someone who looks very similar to Coltrane and Lorelie Linklter.

The cinematography is absolutely beautiful and incredibly intimate; so many frames are works of art and beautifully realised though several shots are slightly out of focus (it happens to the best of us). The score and soundtrack are also important pieces of the puzzle, hitting all the right notes while also being markers for the timeline of the film. It's also perfectly edited with the pacing and three hour length being no problem at all as it is constantly engaging and I never wanted this film to end.

Now with all the praise I'm throwing at this is doesn't mean it's perfect. The are several moments when the dialogue is ungracefully heavy-handed to the point of being cringe-worthy. I also feel that is should have ended just a few minutes before it did because though it ended on a nice moment just a few seconds before that moment was one of the most jarring and weakest part of the film. Like I said Coltrane's performance feels a lot weaker once he's older; my reasoning being that he was probably more conscious of his performance whilst when he was younger he was more honest and didn't over think things. I also feel there will definitely be people that won't like this film, understand or embrace what it's all about but to those who are willing they will find it a incredibly rewarding three hours of their life.

I wasn't expecting to talk about myself, what I feel or my experiences at all in this review but that is the effect of this film. After watching it I wasn't really sure how to rate it or if I should; I thought it was incredibly well made and thought out but it wasn't at all how I felt after watching other movies I absolutely loved. But, when I got home and processed everything something happened...I broke down, tears filled up in my eyes and started pouring out. I began to think about how little of a life I had lived but then also realised how much of one I had. It shook me as a person but also showed me how much of one I was. It both was and wasn't my life and now the experience of this film has become a part of my life.

 This is a film so earnest, so honest and so beautifully crafted that even its flaws aren't really flaws, they're just a part of life. I don't feel I need to rate this film because I don't believe it needs to be rated; can we really rate someone's life? And I know some of you reading this are probably saying "Are you seriously getting this worked up and effected by a movie?" My answer is yes. At times people go to the movies to escape life, but they can also go to the movies to experience life and that is what I experienced with this film. Just because a situation isn't real doesn't mean the emotions you feel aren't real (just paraphrasing something from the movie 'Her'). Boyhood is a masterpiece and one I look forward to revisiting in the many, many years to come and just because the movie has the word 'Boy' in the title doesn't mean women won't get the same experience I did.

Because people need scores to help them decide I will give this movie a score.

5 out of 5 stars (my first 5 stars for this year).

Ps - The past two years my first 5 stars of the year have been in August, go figure.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.