Film review - Boyhood

Ellar Coltrane and Ethan Hawke as father and son

Richard Linklater's grand experiment - to spend 12 years filming two children growing up - was always going to produce an unusual and interesting movie. But what could have been gimmicky turned out to be one of the most special, moving and quietly joyous film I have ever seen. This is a film where not very much happens, but everything happens. Life happens.

Boyhood follows a boy called Mason (Ellar Coltrane) from the age of five to 18, showing the ups and downs and milling arounds of his family, made up of older sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater) and his divorced parents (Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke). The audience is given snatches of their lives, dipping in once a year to see how much has changed and how much has stayed the same.

Linklater doesn't signpost the plot or the characters' feelings. Instead the realistic scenes wash over you, and you understand what is going on in a very organic way. This is a long film, and while the three hours don't hurtle by, you are never bored as you are right there in the moment with the characters.

Coltrane gives a soulful and understated performance as a thoughtful little boy. While he is ostensibly the focus, it is Arquette and Hawke that make the biggest impression, as parents who grow up along with the children.

Boyhood is a quiet masterpiece that shows just how amazing everyday life is. This is one experiment that definitely succeeded.