Last night I went to see Boyhood.
I had heard a little about it because it was filmed over 12 years using the same actors, so it immediately sounds a little different.
Well wow. I can tell you that this is an exceptional movie. In fact, I would go as far to say that it is the best movie I have seen since that of Lone Survivor or Shutter Island, although completely and utterly opposite.
This offbeat story is nothing remarkable, following the journey of a young boy (from the age of 5 to 18) and his family as they grow up in the states of southern America, but it is in the development of the characters that the movie excels.
The story doesn't revolve around any major event, and is both simplistic and realistic in its portrayal of normal family life, so maybe it is this mundane reality of the family journey that makes this movie so refreshing to watch.
The acting is outstanding by all four of the main characters, the mother (Patricia Arquette), father (Ethan Hawke), sister (Lorelei Linklater) and brother (Ellar Coltrane).
I particularly enjoyed the interaction of Coltrane who plays movie's protagonist, and Hawke his father, who have such an amusing relationship over the years which is delivered with perfection.
I am excited to see Coltrane play other characters because he does seem to have been born for the camera. There isn't one moment in the movie where you don't believe he is his character, in fact, I wonder if Coltrane was playing himself the whole time and that is why it came so easy to him... I must look it up.
He is so natural in fact that he makes ordinary performances like that of his girlfriend in the film (Zoe Graham) look weak. Fortunately, the three main characters of his father, mother and sister (who is interestingly the directors daughter) are good enough to keep up with Coltrane.
Overall, I cannot recommend this movie enough, and feel as though it would have done well in award season if it was released then.
This movie gets a ten out of ten for me, I loved it so much, and despite being lengthy (nearly 3 hours long), I really couldn't get enough. I wanted to continue the journey to find out what happens next and see where this family ends up and how the relationships evolve. Unfortunately if they do decide to do a sequel, it won't be released for another 12 years as they follow Coltrane in his twenties.
It wasn't just me who thought this movie was exceptional because it seems to have gotten a 9.0 from IMDb and 5 stars from The Ticket.
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