Boyhood

[agen_kolar]

Richard Linklater's BOYHOOD -- a fictional drama made with the same group of actors over a 12-year period from 2002-2013 -- takes a one-of-a-kind trip, at once epic and intimate, through the exhilaration of childhood, the seismic shifts of a modern family and the very passage of time.

The film tracks 6 year-old Mason (Ellar Coltrane) over life's most radically fluctuating decade, through a familiar whirl of family moves, family controversies, faltering marriages, re-marriages, new schools, first loves, lost loves, good times, scary times and a constantly unfolding mix of heartbreak and wonder. But the results are unpredictable, as one moment braids into the next, entwining into a deeply personal experience of the incidents that shape us as we grow up and the ever-changing nature of our lives.

As the story begins, dreamy-eyed grade-schooler Mason faces upheaval: his devoted, struggling single mom Olivia (Patricia Arquette) has decided to move him and older sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater) to Houston -- just as their long-absent father Mason Sr. (Ethan Hawke) returns from Alaska to re-enter their world. Thus begins life's non-stop flux. Yet through a tide of parents and stepparents, girls, teachers and bosses, dangers, yearnings and creative passions, Mason emerges to head down his own road.

 

[batfan08]

This looks fascinating. I'd see it for the novelty of the behind-the-scenes process, alone, but it also looks like a genuinely good movie.

 

[batfan08]

I finally got to see this today, and it was an amazing piece of filmmaking by Linklater. It truly felt like a journey, and like you were experiencing the growth of the characters, as it went on. It examined the idea of "coming of age" on a grand scale, as you saw the main character, and those around him, change as the years went by. Probably one of the most fascinating films of the last decade, on a technical level, and a superb movie, to boot.

 

[automaton]

i saw it last month and loved it... such commitment by a cast of great actors.