'Boyhood' A Review

Boyhood is a quiet family drama about the childhood of a boy in Texas. The film follows Mason from age 6 to age 18. His parents are divorced and his mother has a string of bad boyfriends and failed marriages throughout his childhood. The family moves, the kids make friends, experiment with drugs and drinking, fall in love, and wax poetic about what-it-all-means.

The film was shot over a period of twelve years using the same actors as they aged congruently with their characters. The effect in itself is powerful but even more powerful is the subtle and resonate story that gradually unfolds as you see Mason grow and all the characters age and develop.

The performances in the film are fascinating. We see the characters and actors go through drastic physical and psychological changes. The child actors go from unaware of the camera, to self-concious tweens, to burgeoning adults. The adults have their own range of energy steming from their ever-changing life positions. We get to know the characters intimately but the actors even more so because of the scope of the project.

There is only one 'big' moment in the film but there are hundreds of small moments and that is what the film truly highlights. Real life isn't a series extreme tragedies or vibrant successes and the film feels very real. There is danger and tension and familial discord but there is also love and boredom and simple pleasures. The subtlety and authenticity of this boy's childhood make it poignant and moving. The film fictionalizes reality and inspires personal reflection.

Boyhood is a masterpiece of small beautiful moments over the sometimes heartbreaking passage of time.

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