Boyhood

 

Did you see Richard Linklater's movie Boyhood?  I think it's the only movie ever to get 99% on Rotten Tomatoes (If you aren't familiar with www.rottentomatoes.com , you should look it up.

 

Anyway, Boyhood got so much hype I could hardly wait to see it.  It was filmed over 12 years, using the same actors, so you could see Mason, the main character, age from 7 to 19 and the adult characters age and put on weight.  Linklater must be incredibly patient to film over such a long time, and the actors must be available when he wants to shoot another episode.  So all in all, an amazing feat.

 

We see Mason as a boy of 7, curious about the world, and follow him until he's  a budding artist, starting college at 19, searching for the meaning of life.   I guess this is supposed to be a "typical American family,"  or maybe not.  We hear Mom and Dad arguing at the beginning.  Soon after, they're divorced.  Mom becomes involved with and eventually marries one of her professors, who turns out to be incredibly abusive, and she and the kids escape in the middle of the night.  Husband #3 may or may not be abusive, but he looks like a loser.  Meanwhile, Dad remains a presence in the kids' lives whenever he can,

 

 

The movie has some funny parts:  when Dad is giving a sex-ed lecture to the kids, and you can see the daughter cringing and probably thinking, "This is gross."  There are sad parts, too:  when the family is running away from the abusive step-father and the children realize they'll probably never see their step-siblings again.

 

The acting was pretty good, but the movie, at 3 hours, is way too long.  Forty-five minutes before the end, I started getting antsy and worrying if we were going to follow Mason perhaps until he was 35.  I guess it was supposed to just be a slice of life, but like most people's lives, there were a lot of boring parts.  Still, I'm glad I saw what one reviewer called the movie of the century.  I don't think so.  The century has barely begun and I'm sure there'll be lots of better or more interesting movies before it's over.

 

As we walked out, someone behind me was remarking that Linklater will probably be nominated for best director.  Did you see the movie or do you want to?  What do you think?  I'd love to know.