Movielogr

Boyhood (2014)

Directed by Richard Linklater

Drama

Most recently watched by lordofthemovies, themarc, danfinn, scottfinn, archstanton43, jeneot33, CaptainBigTime, schofizzy

Overview

The film tells a story of a divorced couple trying to raise their young son. The story follows the boy for twelve years, from first grade at age 6 through 12th grade at age 17-18, and examines his relationship with his parents as he grows.

Rated R | Length 166 minutes

Actors

Ellar Coltrane | Patricia Arquette | Ethan Hawke | Lorelei Linklater | Libby Villari | Marco Perella | Brad Hawkins | Jamie Howard | Andrew Villarreal | Jenni Tooley | Zoe Graham | Charlie Sexton | Elijah Smith | Steven Chester Prince | Bonnie Cross | Sydney Orta | Shane Graham | Tess Allen | Ryan Power | Sharee Fowler | Mark Finn | Byron Jenkins | Holly Moore | David Blackwell | Barbara Chisholm | Matthew Martinez-Arndt | Cassidy Johnson | Cambell Westmoreland | Jennifer Griffin | Garry Peters | Merrilee McCommas | Tamara Jolaine | Jordan Howard | Andrew Bunten | Tyler Strother | Evie Thompson | Savannah Welch | Mika Odom | Sinjin Venegas | Nick Krause | Derek Chase Hickey | Angela Rawna | Megan Devine | Landon Collier | Roland Ruiz | Richard Jones | Karen Jones | Gordon Friday | Tom McTigue | Sam Dillon | Martel Summers | David Clark | Jessie Tilton | Richard Robichaux | Will Harris | Indica Shaw | Bruce Salmon | Wayne Sutton | Joe Sundell | Sean Tracey | Ben Hodges | Daniel Zeh | Chris Doubek | Andrea Chen | Mona Lee Fultz | Maximillian McNamara | Taylor Weaver | Jessi Mechler | Bill Wise | Alina Linklater | Charlotte Linklater | Genevieve Kinney | Elijah Ford | Kyle Crusham | Conrad Choucroun | Deanna Brochin | Stephen Latham | Heather Materne | Johnny Walter | Natalie Makenna | Ken Edwards

Viewing History (seen 1 time)

Date ViewedDeviceFormatSourceRating
07/24/2014Movie ScreenDigitalTheater7 stars
 

Viewing Notes

Pretty much exactly what I expected it would be. Which is unfortunate given all the hype around it. So put me on the other side of the fence; not a fan. At all.

However, I admire and appreciate the process to make this work. Using the same cast over a 12 year period filming pieces at a time is remarkable. Hence my favorable rating. This is a film to see for that alone as the transitions through time are nearly seamless and never feel disjointed. It all makes sense within the narrative.

Where I have an issues is the narrative. I rarely felt any connection to the characters or the story, which even with a few conflicts here and there is fairly generic. Not being a parent or young enough for this modern timeline, nothing resonated. Sure, there are few brushes I could identify with but not much. People have said that the almost 3 hour runtime breezes by. Not to me. It was tedious at times especially that final hour.

The first 90 minutes or so I enjoyed more when the children are much younger. It’s when they get older, teenagers, that everything becomes routine. I can understand why some may really love this movie but it’s not for me. So far Linklater has been more miss than hit for me.

Oh one other thing I do like in this is that plot points occur after a simple cue; there isn’t a long setup or establishing arc to get to the next beat. It’s very natural and it works in that regard. I’m very curious to hear what others, people whom I know, feel about this movie.

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