Review: Boyhood (2015)

[Mark R. Leeper]

BOYHOOD
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)

CAPSULE: In an audacious effort at filmmaking, this
fiction film follows one boy from first grade to high
school senior showing how he develops. Amazingly,
director Richard Linklater pulls off the hazardous
project. But the boy does not grow into a strong
enough actor to hold the viewer's interest, leaving
the way clear for Ethan Hawke to steal the film. Rating:
high +1 (-4 to +4) or 6/10

It took many months for me to get an opportunity to see BOYHOOD.
It is not the kind of film that plays in Central New Jersey I
guess. Thanks to NetFlix I finally got a chance to see the film.
This was the film that was shot over the course of twelve years
showing a boy developing over that length of time. There was one
segment shot each year. In the first the boy was in first grade.
The second was shot when he was in second grade, and so forth. The
shooting title supposedly was 12 YEARS, but it had to be changed to
avoid confusion with 12 YEARS A SLAVE. BOYHOOD is a decent film,
but by its very nature it has to be episodic. The filmmakers took
a great risk that they would not lose one of the main characters,
somebody crucial to the production during the shooting. I am told
that a film contract can only be seven years or less, so any of the
actors could have easily scuttled the project by leaving,
voluntarily or not.

BOYHOOD could be considered a series of stories but perhaps without
enough connective tissue between them. Some of the plotlines are
not tied up until the next segment and then the viewer must pick up
how the plot ended from context. To shoot a film this way is a
real accomplishment, but that does not mean the end result is
ideal. The plotline needs a little more narrative thrust to pull
the viewer along. Ellar Coltrane plays the boy, but he does not
develop into an actor with stage presence. Ethan Hawke as his
father steals the film from him. To make a twelve-year story
short, against the odds, the film did get made.

I think that the film took an impressive effort and it is
surprising that Linklater did not win an Oscar as Best Director.
BOYHOOD is an example of someone who did not win Best Picture but
deserved Best Director. So Barbra Streisand was wrong when she
complained that a film nominated for Best Picture was not nominated
for Best Director. The Best Director does not necessarily make the
Best Film, so the converse has to be true also. I liked BOYHOOD
for its originality, but it does not really have a strong story.
Also, I think that at 165 minutes it is a trifle long. In the end the
story just did not amount to much. Rating: high +1 on the -4 to +4
scale or 6/10.

Film Credits: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1065073/combined

What others are saying:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/boyhood/



Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 2015 Mark R. Leeper