My Favourite Film

BOYHOOD

I can honestly say that I have never seen a film that quite captured me and transported me like Richard Linklater's Boyhood did. Richard Linklater created a story in 2002 about a six year old boy and his family and this project continued for the next twelve years culminating in a 'spellbinding' film which has made 'cinematic history.' The drama was released on the 15th of August 2014 in the USA by IFC productions and Detour Filmproduction and once it reached cinemas critics were immediately calling it 'A masterpiece, that isn't quite like anything else in the history of cinema.' (Andrew O'Hehir, Salon)

The groundbreaking story following the intricate stages of growing up focuses on the main character Mason played by Ellar Coltrane and then is closely followed by the development of his family members including his sister Samantha played by Lorelei Linklater, his mother who is played by Patricia Arquette and finally his father played by Ethan Hawke.  The story is told through the eyes of the protagonist Mason and as an audience we witness him growing up on the screen before our eyes. There are snippets from all the different poignant moments in the family's life including birthdays and the children's graduation, but what really captured me was how important and special the moments in-between were and how transcendent they were. The film could be described as a 'nostalgic time capsule' which is truly exhilarating.

Patricia Arquette won the oscar for best performance by an actress in a supporting role for her role as Mason's mother and the film won golden globes for best motion picture -drama and Richard Linklater won best director-motion picture. The film was also nominated for many other awards including BAFTA's and Screen Actors Guild awards.

What makes this film one of my favourites is that despite not having one of the most captivating or intricate plots or stories it is relatable to so many people on so many different levels. Due to the fact that it deals with subject matters including coming of age, domestic abuse and growing up and is also set in a twelve year time frame it allows itself to be relatable and enables the audience to make a connection with the plot and the characters, You could say that technically this film could be about any family in America because the characters portrayed are so archetypal and paradigmatic.

Another reason why I personally like the film is because it has so many life lessons in it and it shows similar events that happen in other families' lives too. For example there is a scene where the father takes the children bowling and Mason asks to have the bumpers up during the game to make it easier for him but the dad responds, 'life doesn't give you bumpers' this really touched me and made a great impact on me as you could see the child receiving a life lesson from his father which is probably the same life lesson that your parent has told you or will tell you in the future. This particular quote provides a very poignant moment in the film as the quote relates to the struggles that Mason and his family experience as his parents are separated and Mason's mother is domestically abused by her second husband and so this really hit home as it shows how much Mason has to deal with at such a young age but also the things that he and his family are experiencing or have experienced are similar to that of other families across the world and so I really like the reliability of this film and the meaningful quotes carefully placed throughout the astonishing film.

Another thing that really made me like the film was not only did you experience Mason's story but also his family and friends' stories and you were able to watch each of the characters grow up and experience different crucial points in life in different ways. I was particularly impressed with the acting from Patricia Arquette as I thought she did a phenomenal job of portraying a broken down mother having to deal with raising two children alone. Her performance was really mesmerising and very impressive as to how she portrayed how she coped with the scenarios experienced and how she struggled so much. I believe that she did an amazing job in creating a character that other mothers can watch and see how all mother experience similar feelings and her character is highly relatable.

Another one of my favourite moments in this film is in the earlier stages when Mason and Samantha are fighting in the back of the car and the mother is telling them to put up the barrier between them; a pillow. I find this a very humorous and again relatable part of the film as this is something that me and my brother used to do and so I can see me and my brother within the characters which makes the scene more appealing. This also makes this such a different film from any others I have seen and definitely makes it stand out because you can see parts of yourself within the different characters and you can really relate to them which allows you to make a greater and stronger connection with the characters and the story.

However, the thing that I liked the most about this film was the ending. The last scene is filmed on the top of a mountain with Mason and his new friends at university. I interpreted this scene as representing that it was almost as though throughout the entire film we had been hiking up the mountain with Mason and his family with rocky bits along the route and when we got to the end of the film, or the top of the mountain it was like the end of an era. This really created a seminal moment for me as it was like we had experienced an era with him and now as he continued his journey over the top of the mountain he was starting a new chapter of life. I really liked this imagery as it really summed up life for me and how as one chapter ends another one opens.

Overall, this film definitely made an impression on me and I thoroughly enjoyed being able to watch Mason and his family grow up. I believe that Richard Linklater did an amazing job of creating a film that is one of a kind and unique in its own way. In my opinion, Boyhood is a truly extraordinary film and most definitely worth the watch, despite being 165 minutes long!

This image is a timeline of the different stages that we see in Mason's transformation from young boy into adolescent. 

This image is the film poster for Boyhood, one of Mason's hands is reaching up. I interpret this as him reaching for his future which I believe really captures the meaning of the film.