IMDb #200 Review: Boyhood (2014)

Source: Wikipedia

Twelve years flit by in the amount of time it feels like to live through it. A middle-class American boy ages in real time from preschool to highschool to college age.

But not just him--his divorced parents grow older, wiser, sadder. His big sister orbits his life like the sassy multicolored moon to a brooding cloud-covered planet. Yes, Mason's a low-key kid. He likes books, sucks at bowling, and would rather discuss art than personal feelings.

Pop culture moves on too. Dragon Ball Z and Tamogotchi grows into Halo and Harry Potter, then Twilight and the Nintendo Wii. Message for the millennial generation: pack your bags, we're going on a nostalgia trip.

The kid flirts with dreams and dumps them for newer, brighter ones. He does the same for girls. They reciprocate the favor.

But dreams (and girls) come with a price tag, so he suffers through crappy jobs to afford them.

Meanwhile, his perpetually frazzled mother pursues education. His wild father pursues a relationship with his kids. While his peers introduce him to Internet porn and beer, his mother's godawful taste in men introduces him to various manifestations of terrible parenting.

Actually, just about every adult has glaring flaws. They all have different unrealistic expectations of Mason, which they freely vocalize. He nods along and does whatever the hell he wants. Good on ya, kiddo.

Meanwhile, the writer-director's ear for dialogue rings true once again. Richard Linklater captures people talking, the casual crassness and homespun humor, the verbal tics and vocalized pauses. Combined with the understated direction, it's as absorbing and invisibly choreographed as real life.

What's it all mean? Live in the moment. Enjoy it, if you can. Because when the moment's passed it might take a sentimental arthouse film might to show how you did it all wrong and you can't go back.

165 minutes.