Arian Behpour
Arts and Entertainment Editor
Sometimes we don’t realize that life is full of good and bad moments that are more important than we originally perceived. The goal Boyhood sets out to accomplish is to show us these moments and their immense impact on life. Boyhood chronicles a boy as he grows up and becomes an adult. This film doesn’t have much of a plot. Instead, it tries to simulate real life as close as possible. For a film that has been in the making for about twelve years, its amazing nothing went wrong.
The film is very simple. The acting feels real and nothing seems staged. Patricia Arquette gives the best performance in the whole film. The viewers feel for her as she does anything to help make her children’s life easier. Ethan Hawke is good, but his character isn’t given a lot to work with. Ellar Coltrane definitely had a grand breakout role with this film. He started at age six and kept acting until nineteen. The more he grows up the better his acting ability becomes. Even as a child he acted better than most child actors.
The direction does not have any glit or glammer. Its straight forward, but not for lack of attention or boredom. Richard Linklater directed this film in a way not to take away from the film or the reality the film portrays. There are many instances of beautiful imagery that reflects how life, nature, and the emotions are explored in the film.
Boyhood covers so much ground that many viewers might find a little bit of themselves in there. There are some moments that hit hard on the heart strings and that make the viewer ponder worldly themes.
It is no wonder the film is nominated for an Oscar for best picture. We all were children, and we all will grow up. This film reflects on those infinite moments experienced by billions of human beings all around the world.
