Anyone who has seen any work from Richard Linklater knows what kind of a filmmaker he is. He waited between years to complete his "Before" trilogy and with Boyhood he has gone a step further and actually filmed the actor in real time. The real time extent here is a staggering 18 years and the coming of age aspect is enhanced by this fact alone. Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette play the parents of the lead and the young actors, especially Ellar Coltrane is exceptional. This is a must watch for all cinema lovers.

Just when I thought this was another chronicle of Godless people living without a code, they threw in some worthwhile scenes with coded adults. A photography teacher, a corrections officer, a restaurant employer, a girlfriend, and a reformed dad all tried to teach our apathetic protagonist some valuable life lessons. Those were great scenes. They had to throw in some political propaganda against President Bush, for Obama and singer "Bright Eyes," to appease their stars or themselves I imagine. At least they showed religious people as sincere and kind before they gently mocked the concept.Something this long starts to feel self-indulgent. But most scenes are thoughtful and carefully made. I'll give it a grudging recommendation.

I loved Richard Linklater's approach with filming the movie. The audience literally sees a kid grow up on screen. This movie is not for the average movie goer. Most people these days watch movies to either see explosions or to get a laugh. I can see how some may think of Boyhood as boring, but I found it interesting. During the movie I felt attached to the characters and I would say that the characters are the most important part of this film. I am not an emotional person, but I found myself tearing up at a scene where Ethan Hawke's character is playing football with his two kids in a park. The scene was simple yet touching. It's these little moments that make Boyhood special. The only disappointment I had with the film was the acting, particularly with Lorelei Linklater (who plays Samantha). Lorelei Linklater was bland.

My biggest focus in a film tends to be the characters and interactions, and that is a huge problem in this film, and a big reason why I don't tend to like gimmick films in general. This film seems to be more infatuated with its gimmick than telling an intriguing story.Production started from 2002 and finished in 2013, and covers a family, focusing on a boy named Mason as he grows up. Reportedly, the script hadn't been completed by the time filming started beyond basic plot points and an ending, and it unfortunately shows badly in the final product. The most basic elements of storytelling are blatantly mishandled as the film chugs along at a snail's pace through its nearly three hour runtime seeming to make things up as it goes, which is likely what happened given the gimmick. It's essentially a slice of life story with a few plot devices placed to try to give the film some narrative to follow. It doesn't push any boundaries or try to be creative in any way other than in taking ten years to film, which is hardly a matter of talent rather than one of patience.The film starts off with its strongest conflicts right at the start, as the mother, Olivia, is recently divorced and falls for her teacher, Bill, who becomes an abusive alcoholic. This feels like one of the few elements that was placed in the story from the beginning, but even it didn't grip me. I grew up with an abusive alcoholic father, and Marco Perella's performance as Bill didn't convince me, as the subtleties seemed off. While it seemed right on paper, the execution felt like he was saying his lines off a teleprompter. Anyways, the movie shortly moves past that and goes on to focus on the family as Mason and Samantha who are now in high school, and it's nothing we haven't seen a million times before, and experienced at some point in our lives, which I suppose is the point, but it seems counter-intuitive to go to the movies to experience the worst part of your life over again. As Mason grows up throughout the movie, I find him less and less likeable as he gets extremely pretentious and depressing, to which point I agree with all those who antagonize him and call him out on his teenage melodrama. Samantha is not much better as she is unreasonably rude to her mother, who is by far the most likeable character in the entire movie. Mason Sr. is alright, and he gets a nice positive arc from being a loser to getting his life together and being a more active father throughout their lives, but I don't feel Mason Jr. quite follows along the same lines. He's simply not matured by the end of the film and it left me very disappointed. The real climax of the film involves Olivia having a mental breakdown about how her life has turned out, and it's actually quite effective, but short-lived, as the movie feels it more important to end with an artsy-fartsy yet cliche scene with teens blabbing about life while watching the sunset at the beach. Seriously, teenagers are just awful.In other words, this film is basically my life with a whole lot less conflict and an even worse teenager than myself. If this concept had worked out to make an entertaining film, it would have been an incredibly lucky lightning in a bottle scenario, and unfortunately that didn't happen. The family didn't have much chemistry, and the children didn't grow into as strong of actors as the parents were from the start. I understand the attempt at becoming a cultural phenomenon, but the excruciating runtime is ultimately undeserved. It can be an interesting diversion for some people, but I'm not entirely surprised it didn't resonate as well as may have been expected through its lengthy production.