Boyhood

Boyhood

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane

Director: Richard Linklater

Rating: 4.5/5

Richard Linklater has gone on a real odyssey with his latest film Boyhood, as it has taken him twelve years to complete.

Finally, this labour of love has hit the big screen, and it is winning over critics and audiences wherever it plays: we are big fans of the film as well.

Starting back in 2002, Boyhood tracks 6 year-old Mason (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.

It is not unusual for documentary filmmakers to dedicate years of their lives to a film, but it is unusual for a drama to take so long to complete.

The time that it has taken to complete this film in just mind-blowing, but Linklater has created an astonishing movie that is a coming of age tale unlike any other.

Boyhood really is an incredible portrait of life as we follow Mason and see him grown, learn, live, and love.

This may a film that has been filmed in fits and starts over the years, yet, it is a film that flows so perfectly and seamlessly - I really cannot praise the work of Linklater enough on this project.

Boyhood was an incredibly ambitious project - some would say Linklater was made to even attempt it - but he really has pulled it off. As a result, we have a portrayal of growing up like never before.

Boyhood feels so raw and real and really does capture the film, essence, and uncertainty of life.

We quite literally see Ellar Coltrane grow up on film, and that really is an incredibly thing to witness. This could well be the role that launches his career, and I can't wait to see what he does next.

Hawke and Arquette also deliver terrific performances - this is as much about their relationship with each other as it is with their onscreen son.

Boyhood is a simple story of growing up and the trials and tribulations of everyday life, and yet there is something so magical about a tale that is so straightforward. This is a film that is not to be missed, as it is a really great watch.

Boyhood is out now.


by for www.femalefirst.co.uk
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