Boyhood movie review

Boyhood--written and directed by Richard Linklater/starring Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane, Ethan Hawke, Lorelei Linklater/rated R/2hr46min

Bifocal Reviews by Ageless1der Barbara Rich & The Other Guy

(BR) Boyhood took a little too long to get into, and by the time I got to know this family

I was restless in my seat. It was too long. It seemed like I was binge watching a modern day series of The Waltons. I appreciate the original and unique concept of the 12 year production, but I don’t think the story was in the same league as the other nominated films. I was especially impressed with the performance of Ellar Coltrane throughout his growth in this movie. One aspect of this film that was a relief was the lack of torture and extreme violence that is present in most of the nominated movies this year. However, beyond the uniqueness, there is no compelling story. Three binoculars are all I could spare for what I consider to be an average film.

 (OG) At almost three hours, this film grew on me like a tiny snowball rolling down a hill to become an avalanche. In other words, I liked it more and more as we went along, but then it crashed and self-destructed. Unfortunately, getting to the end became a goal. By two hours, I had to look at the clock to see how much more I would have to endure. There were four definite stages of viewing for me. First, I was unimpressed and wondering what all the hoopla was all about. Second, I played the Has-Another-Year-Gone-By-Yet? Game. Then, I was engaged and impressed at the determination of the actors and director-writer to fulfill this vision. Finally, I realized—actually Barbara suggested this to me immediately after the film ended and while the credits were rolling-- that this was just a series of short vignettes filmed with the same actors over a long period of time. There was a certain amount of continuity, but every reference and historical time stamp had to have been added during the period that the filming was done for that segment. In the end, Boyhood never matures. I’m glad I saw it, but it’s not the best movie this year, by a long shot. My rating? Two and a half binoculars.