Boyhood

****
UK Release Date: July 11th 2014

The life of a young man, Mason, from age 5 to age 18.

Director: Richard Linklater (Before Sunrise Trilogy, A Scanner Darkly, Bernie)

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

Boyhood is like nothing you've ever seen before. It is an impressive filming project that spans over 12 years. The authenticity cannot be criticised as Richard Linklater manages to meet and shoot with the same cast once a year until its completion.

The film follows Mason (Coltrane) from ages 6 to 18, from childhood to young adult life. Ethan Hawke is his father, Patricia Arquette his mother, and the director's very own daughter Lorelei is his sister. Some age well overtime whilst others grow either out or up. 

Being with this family through the highs and the lows is both horrifying and heart warming. Boyhood gets you as close to fictional character's lives as it can. It's real and gripping within a relaxed environment, even with the coming and going of Patricia Arquette's boyfriends and their drinking problems.

What stops Boyhood having the perfect finish is its running time (close to 3 hours) and the young starlet's acting. Both Coltrane and Lorelei Linklater have moments where they falter. As time passes one shines and the other becomes a whiney anti-semetic teenager who would rather question everything in life than live for the moment. Our on-screen parents are well practiced in their forte, so 12 years is plenty of time to take a leaf from their books.

Boyhood is a fantastic piece of art that most will appreciate, but with its slow pace and long running time, it wont entice all.