Boyhood (2014)

The life of Mason, from early childhood to his arrival at college.

Director:

Richard Linklater

Writer:

Richard Linklater

Stars:

Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke

Won 1 Oscar. Another 170 wins & 208 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ellar Coltrane	...	Mason
Patricia Arquette	...	Mom
Elijah Smith	...	Tommy
Lorelei Linklater	...	Samantha
Steven Chester Prince	...	Ted (as Steven Prince)
Bonnie Cross	...	Teacher
Sydney Orta	...	Elementary School Girl (as Sidney Orta)
Libby Villari	...	Grandma
Ethan Hawke	...	Dad
Marco Perella	...	Professor Bill Welbrock
Jamie Howard	...	Mindy
Andrew Villarreal	...	Randy
Shane Graham	...	Neighborhood Friend #1
Tess Allen	...	Neighborhood Friend #2
Ryan Power	...	Paul

Storyline

Filmed over 12 years with the same cast, Richard Linklater's BOYHOOD is a groundbreaking story of growing up as seen through the eyes of a child named Mason (a breakthrough performance by Ellar Coltrane), who literally grows up on screen before our eyes. Starring Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette as Mason's parents and newcomer Lorelei Linklater as his sister Samantha, BOYHOOD charts the rocky terrain of childhood like no other film has before. Snapshots of adolescence from road trips and family dinners to birthdays and graduations and all the moments in between become transcendent, set to a soundtrack spanning the years from Coldplay's Yellow to Arcade Fire's Deep Blue. BOYHOOD is both a nostalgic time capsule of the recent past and an ode to growing up and parenting.

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Plot Keywords:

coming of age | domestic abuse | 12 year time span | separated parents | growing up | 

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Taglines:

12 years in the making

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language including sexual references, and for teen drug and alcohol use

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

15 August 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Growing Up

Filming Locations:

Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$387,618 (USA) (11 July 2014)

Gross:

$25,359,200 (USA) (27 February 2015)

Company Credits

Production Co:

IFC Productions, Detour Filmproduction

Technical Specs

Runtime:

165 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Richard Linklater and his crew got together annually to film Linklater's script about a boy who will eventually grow up into a college freshman. Linklater's method behind production was essentially to make several 10- to 15-minute short films over the course of 12 years, each depicting a year in the life of the boy, and then edit them together as a feature film.

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Goofs

In one of the first scenes of the movie when the Mom is driving Mason and Samantha in her car they drive by a street with an old car and a boat in the driveway and then a few seconds later drive they drive by the same street with the same car and boat.

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Quotes

Mason: So what's the point?
Dad: Of what?
Mason: I don't know, any of this. Everything.
Dad: Everything? What's the point? I mean, I sure as shit don't know. Neither does anybody else, okay? We're all just winging it, you know? The good news is you're feeling stuff. And you've got to hold on to that.

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Connections

Referenced in Mike & Mike: Episode dated 3 October 2014 (2014)

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Soundtracks

Suburban War
Written by Win Butler, Will Butler (as William Butler), Régine Chassagne, Jeremy Gara, Tim Kingsbury and Richard Reed Parry (as Richard Parry)
Performed by Arcade Fire
Published by EMI April Music Inc. on behalf of EMI Music Publishing Ltd.
Courtesy of Merge Records
By arrangement with Bank Robber Music

User Reviews

This is life!

This film blew me away and it is hard to describe why. Seeing it together with 1,500+ captivated and enthusiastic people at one of the Berlinale Friedrichstadt-Palast screenings surly helped. Yet, what makes this film so unique and touching is its deep humanity. Although it is a fictional piece, you can't help not to relate to the actors as if it would be a documentary. Every scene feels like real life. I know that this is not necessarily a good thing to say about a movie but it is meant as a compliment.

The actors deliver an outstanding performance. While much has already been said about the main characters, I was also deeply impressed by the performance of the side characters as well. As an example, the actor of the second husband of Olivia excels in one of the most emotionally straining scenes of the movie. The dialogs are touching and feel just natural. There are so many scenes and details in the movie where you feel unbelievable close to the actors. When Patricia Arquette says as mother Olivia "I thought there would be more" you instantly think about your own (family) life and its constant flux.

I surely hope that this movie will make it to as many screens as possible. Also, I hope that no distributor will force additional editing on it. It is perfect as it is and worth any minute. If you like people in general and families in particular, you will love this movie.