‘Boyhood’ is not a gimmick, it is the ultimate coming of age story

Posted on January 23, 2015

By MARK VIOLA

“Boyhood,” from director Richard Linklater (“School of Rock,” “Before Midnight”), was first released late last summer in a limited number of theaters, will most assuredly return in the lead up to the Academy Awards, but for now, it is available on DVD and Blu-ray, as well as online rental.

Since the start of award season, “Boyhood” has been considered a frontrunner, and I always get nervous watching a movie after there has been so much buzz since it could cloud my opinion, leaving me wondering if I simply liked the movie because everybody else did before me. Going into “Boyhood,” I was honestly also wondering if the film, despite its early win at the Golden Globes, was really anything beyond the “gimmick”– as I originally saw it–of filming the movie over the course of 12 years.

This is a long movie at two hours and 45 minutes, and almost three quarters of an hour into the story, I was still wondering the same thing. But then, as young Mason (played through 12 years of his life by Ellar Coltrane) continued to grow, I realized the genius behind this picture.

“Boyhood” is the ultimate coming-of-age story, showcasing a boy as he grows from six to 18 in essentially real-time. As I said, I questioned whether the script was really so good that it necessitated the 12-year odyssey Linklater and his cast and crew undertook. The script ultimately works not because it is dramatic piece of art, but because its eschews drama for realism. There are many moments during its lengthy runtime that I found myself thinking that if it had been filmed differently, I would have believed “Boyhood” was a documentary.

“Boyhood” is more than a gimmick. It is also more than the sum of its individual moments, showcasing the life of one young man and in doing so representing our own comings-of-age. Regardless of whether you’re 18 or 80, there will be moments you can relate to in “Boyhood” which will bring back memories and cause reflection. And that’s really the best kind of movie, and just one of the reasons it is truly one of the best films of 2014.

The film is rated R for language including sexual references, and for teen drug and alcohol use.

(This is a shortened version of the full review available in our printed or e-edition papers.)

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