BOYHOOD

boyhood.tumblr.com

Directed by: Richard Linklater

Starring: Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Lorelei Linklater

Running time: 163 min

We have seen people grow in Harry Potter series, but Boyhood is another kind of growing up. Shot in 12 years with the same cast, we got to see how time flies, child grows and the adults, grow older. At the center of this story is Mason, Jr. (Ellar Coltrane).

We follow Mason's life since 2002 to 2013, we seen the tiny tidbits that marks the passage of time such as gaming consoles, US presidential elections, popular culture references, and obviously how Mason Jr grew taller and taller as the film goes by. It is an amazing experience.

Mason is a child of divorce. His mother and his sister move around a lot from town to town. Mason's biological father only visits them for weekend and his mother marries someone else. The first step father was an asshole, the second one is almost an asshole too.

This, together with Mason's experience at school with his peers, shapes him to become a free spirited independent person. It asks deep questions without being too pretentious such as what is a family, do people change over time? Can someone have free will? And how to raise a child. As the film progresses, not only Mason "learns" how to become a human being, so does his parents while his step fathers are just man child not gutsy enough to face reality of life, they escaped by means of alcohol.

Richard Linklater proves once again that by simple dialogue and drama, he can make a captivating story just like Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight. The notion of cinema sculpting time and story is perfectly captures here and although the duration is long, it is a rewarding journey into Mason's adolescence and perhaps, reflection of our own.