Boyhood (2014)
About This Movie
A boy grows from age six to eighteen in real time, filmed over twelve years with the same cast, and the ordinary milestones of childhood, moving houses, enduring stepfathers, discovering music, leaving for college, accumulate into something that feels like watching life itself unfold. Richard Linklater's unprecedented experiment captures growing up with a documentary authenticity that no conventional film could achieve. You do not watch this film so much as live through it.
Why It's a Classic
Linklater trusted that the simple passage of time, rendered honestly, would be dramatic enough to sustain a nearly three hour film, and he was right. Ellar Coltrane's Mason does not have a dramatic arc in the conventional sense; he simply grows, and watching his face change over twelve years is itself a profound experience. Patricia Arquette, who won the Oscar for her role, ages visibly onscreen, and her final scene, where she breaks down crying because she realizes her life's milestones have passed, is devastating in its honesty. The film's greatest achievement is its accumulation of small moments: a camping trip, a haircut, a conversation about Star Wars that reveals a shift in taste and maturity. No other film has captured the experience of time passing with such fidelity.
Fun Fact
Linklater began filming in 2002 and completed the project in 2013, shooting for a few days each year with the same actors. There was no guarantee the project would be completed; the production relied on the continued willingness of all participants for over a decade. IFC Films committed to distributing the film before it was finished, essentially investing in an outcome they could not predict. Ellar Coltrane was six years old when filming began and had no acting experience; Linklater cast him after an open call in Texas.
Parent Note
The film depicts domestic abuse (a stepfather's alcoholism and aggression), underage drinking, marijuana use, and frank teen sexuality. The language is moderate. The nearly three hour runtime requires patience, though the narrative pulls viewers along through curiosity about what comes next. The emotional content is quiet but deeply felt, particularly for parents watching the passage of childhood. Rated R for language including sexual references, and teen drug and alcohol use.
Quick Facts
- Year
- 2014
- Type
- 🎬 Movie
- Category
- Coming of Age
- Age Group
- Adults (Ages 18+)