Boyhood: The gimic, the legend, the movie!
First of all, I liked Boyhood just fine. I didn't love it. I respect the insane and heinous experimental undertaking of trying to develop a story over the course of twelve years of film making. I was charmed by the experience of watching Ellar Coltrane and the rest of the cast age for real instead of through the magic of movie make up, but I wasn't blown away by it. After all, I am quite accustomed to seeing people age over the course of time as I am a living human. I felt almost satisfied at the end by the notions of the true challenges of surviving boyhood and the struggle of transitioning into what comes next. But for me, this wasn't the best picture of the year.
Boyhood meandered, at times wandering vaguely through its own themes, at times ignoring them altogether. It was inconsistent in its performances. It eschewed plot in favor of a more realistic approach to some deeper experience. I didn't get drawn in too deeply; I just really missed having more plot.
I don't want to minimize what Richard Linklater did here. It was a big-hearted, film-loving, wacky as hell experiment that required bravery, faith and deep dedication and we need more of those to push us forward and open our minds and break formulas. I am glad he made this film and I am glad that I saw it and I don't think I will even be mad when it wins the Oscar for Best Picture as I believe it will do. It just wasn't my favorite.
However, Oscar loves a gimic (silent film in black and white, anyone?) and it has found it in Boyhood.
I do believe Sandra Adair deserves an Oscar for her role in pulling together an insane accumulation of footage over such a stretch of time and making something real out of it all. That woman must have warrior blood in her veins, long may she edit!
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