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 174 wins & 215 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ellar Coltrane	...	Mason
Patricia Arquette	...	Olivia
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

Did You Know?

Trivia

There are 143 scenes in the film.

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Goofs

The scene at the Houston Astros game where Roger Clemens is pitching was taken from August 30, 2006, when the Astros defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 1-0. Dad later tells his friend that "Lane won it with a 3-run homer," which did not happen. In fact, the only 3-run home run Jason Lane ever hit against Milwaukee was in the bottom of the 7th inning on April 17, 2006. The actual footage of Lane circling the bases was from the Astros' 5-2 loss to Milwaukee on August 18, 2005 - a year before the Clemens footage. All of these dates were determined from cross-referencing the out-of-town scoreboard in the background.

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Quotes

Mason: [Finding his mom lying on the garage floor next to Bill] What happened?
Professor Bill Welbrock: Your mother had a little accident and now she's being dramatic.
[to mom]
Professor Bill Welbrock: Get off the fucking floor.

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Connections

Referenced in This Is Us: The Fifth Wheel (2018)

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Soundtracks

Lero Lero
Written by Luísa Maita
Performed by Luísa Maita
Published by Cumbancha Music Publishing (BMI)
Courtesy of Cumbancha Music
License arranged by Fine Gold Music

User Reviews

A nostalgic masterpiece for others a waste of time

For some people including myself you tend to be able to relate to a lot of the events in Masons life as he continues to age. The nostalgia that these relations create can bring both good and bad memories up and impacts like no other film can. I have to say a lot of the tough situations mason had to endure (drunk stepfathers) I can really relate to and I could feel the strong intensity in some of those moments. However not everyone has these same experiences and thus not having that nostalgic effect.

So basically your enjoyment of the film is really all a matter of how much you can relate to it. Heck at one point in the film Masons journey took a different turn than what mine did thus ending the ability to relate and from there I could see why some people hated it but the way I looked at it to enjoy it was that either way I was watching the life of this person and being given the opportunity to see this new perspective.

When I lost the ability to relate with Mason on his journey i started to almost dislike him for certain things for some reason. When I watched this film I didn't feel like I was watching a movie I felt like I was going through life with Mason. Others may not be able to do that but I was fortunate enough to experience it like this.

In conclusion this is a really love it or hate it type movie. If you can relate to some experiences it can be very enjoyable but for others it can seem very boring and pointless. I can really see both sides but I definitely enjoyed the film and In those final credits I nearly teared up because I just realized what I had experienced. This is hard to explain but if you understand then you obviously get what I'm saying. I hope you don't waste 165 minutes of your life I hope you experience this film the same way I did if not more so. I hope what I said is helpful thanks for reading my review.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

15 August 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Untitled 12 Year Project

Filming Locations:

Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$387,618, 13 July 2014

Gross USA:

$25,352,281

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$48,137,666

Company Credits

Production Co:

IFC Productions, Detour Filmproduction

Technical Specs

Runtime:

165 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1