BOYHOOD

Everything good you've heard about this movie is true. I put it to the test by taking my boys, my oldest and youngest son and my grandson, to see it and they all agreed that it was great. My 16-year-old said it portrayed the boy of the title's life realistically. Great praise from a skeptical teenager.

And he's right. You probably know this film makes history by being the first feature filmed over twelve years in order to show the actual aging of the characters, particularly the boy of the title. One of the boldest and bravest moves by any filmmaker ever. And fortunately for Richard Linklater, it worked.

The secret was in the skill and/or luck of Linklater's casting of the boy, Ellar Coltrane, a non actor, who never had to face the pressures of being a child movie star since no one would see the film until the boy had grown from six to eighteen and the movie was out.

And for casting his own daughter, Lorelei, as the boy's sister, and Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette (who gives the performance of her life for my taste) as his parents. But hey, all the actors are perfect in it, and to see many of them age as well is somehow thrilling in it's new level of realism. The movie's almost worth it just for that.

I can't recommend this film too highly. The subtleties of the story line and the ways in which it plays out and is photographed and edited and acted are exquisite. It should win any and all awards period. Or at least best picture for it's precedent setting time lapse filming. And all the acting awards. And....etc.