Boyhood (2014)

[tawasal]

You figure it out.

Well I am not good with music and pop culture images, that u mentioned, I rarely listen to music. Anyways that wasn't what made me hate this movie after watching it. 

[MrPink]

I thought it was fairly easy to determine passage of time, usually some song or historical reference was there to make it easy to follow. Bush and Iraq,  a Game Boy Advance SP, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince book release, Obama/McCain election, the Dark Knight, Lady Gaga Telephone music video, Somebody That I Used to Know, and from there it was easy to tell because of pending graduation.

 

Perhaps this is more familiar for someone in the US.

[Water Bottle]

Well I am not good with music and pop culture images, that u mentioned, I rarely listen to music. Anyways that wasn't what made me hate this movie after watching it.

 

I'll just address that if you're not good with American pop culture, I can imagine why you might have trouble telling when time moved forward but then again this movie was very much about an American boyhood than anything else. I can say this  because of the many references to American pop culture and how that influenced the way you can read the text (err, in this case the text is a movie).

 

I think though you're speaking a lot to the intertexuality that a piece can have. Now it's true that it's impossible to really reach a "proper interpretation" because it requires complete and total knowledge of every text that has been released before Boyhood. Still, the time does depend on your knowledge of SOME pop culture in order to properly read the passage of time. It's not the first text to do so and it won't be the last but I guess here you can argue: how subtle do you prefer a movie to be?

 

I imagine most people familiar with pop culture had no problem following the timeline. So to add the "year and boy's age" could be seen as an insult to their intelligence: they can figure it out on their own. On the other hand, I can definably see why it would be more difficult to follow the text if you're not overtly familiar with pop culture. Is that the weakness of the movie? It can be construed that way as it clearly confused you and made it more difficult for you to read the text.

 

And, yet, did the inability of being able to process time in the text really stop you from being able to decode it?

[Dark Jedi Master 007]

In fairness to him, he also did say that the inability to process time wasn't the ultimate reason he disliked the film.

[tawasal]

I'll just address that if you're not good with American pop culture, I can imagine why you might have trouble telling when time moved forward but then again this movie was very much about an American boyhood than anything else. I can say this  because of the many references to American pop culture and how that influenced the way you can read the text (err, in this case the text is a movie).

 

I think though you're speaking a lot to the intertexuality that a piece can have. Now it's true that it's impossible to really reach a "proper interpretation" because it requires complete and total knowledge of every text that has been released before Boyhood. Still, the time does depend on your knowledge of SOME pop culture in order to properly read the passage of time. It's not the first text to do so and it won't be the last but I guess here you can argue: how subtle do you prefer a movie to be?

 

I imagine most people familiar with pop culture had no problem following the timeline. So to add the "year and boy's age" could be seen as an insult to their intelligence: they can figure it out on their own. On the other hand, I can definably see why it would be more difficult to follow the text if you're not overtly familiar with pop culture. Is that the weakness of the movie? It can be construed that way as it clearly confused you and made it more difficult for you to read the text.

 

And, yet, did the inability of being able to process time in the text really stop you from being able to decode it?

I did figure out the time differences while watching, just thought it would have been better that way. And I am gonna say it again, it had nothing to do with WHY I hate this movie. It's just a suggestion I had. And I did understood the movie. 

[RobinHood26]

No, 7 people is not a good sample size, especially when they are only your friends.

 

You are asking 7 people in a specific area, who are a very specific demographic because they are your friends (you being another person who wasn't fond of the movie).  Also those 7 friends aren't everyone you know, they are 7 of your friends, and obviously you are prone to liking a certain type of people more because that's kind of how all people all, usually your friends have similar interests to you.

 

For example, when Her was coming out a lot of my friends were stoked about seeing it, if I used that anecdotal evidence to predict Her's box office (thinking, well if my friends are stoked everyone else must be also) my prediction would have been around 25m for its opening weekend.  Even though Her and especially The Moon Song were popular among my specific demographic of friends where I lived, it wasn't necessarily huge for the rest of America given its box office.  Obviously it got more traction after Oscar nods through VOD but that was due to major exposure.

 

I'm sorry, but seven of your friends is not in anyway shape or form a good or even passable sample size.  I'd even argue IMDb isn't a good sample size because the majority of its users fall under similar demographics, however it is definitely a better one than 7 friends.

 

Its not like my friends have the same taste. I couldn't even get those 7 friends to agree Jurassic Park is great. 1 Hates Star Wars, its a random collection of people. Again 7 people is alot. Imagine if the first 7 people you asked about the TDK said they all didn't like it. That would be Strange. No difference. 7 people agreeing on one thing is pretty surprising. 

[RobinHood26]

Again its a sample size to me... not to the overall quality of the film. Ive made it clear multiple times that my 7 friends not liking it doesn't mean its more important than RT and IMDB or all your guys thoughts... Its just more meaningful to me. Your not getting that. 

[Water Bottle]

I did figure out the time differences while watching, just thought it would have been better that way. And I am gonna say it again, it had nothing to do with WHY I hate this movie. It's just a suggestion I had. And I did understood the movie.

I just thought it was interesting from an academic point of view.

[Deep Wang]

I thought it was fairly easy to determine passage of time, usually some song or historical reference was there to make it easy to follow. Bush and Iraq, a Game Boy Advance SP, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince book release, Obama/McCain election, the Dark Knight, Lady Gaga Telephone music video, Somebody That I Used to Know, and from there it was easy to tell because of pending graduation.Perhaps this is more familiar for someone in the US.

You forgot to mention the Astros with Clemens! That was '04-'05!

[Deep Wang]

I did figure out the time differences while watching, just thought it would have been better that way.

Why do you think it would have been better that way?

[Wormhole]

Its not like my friends have the same taste. I couldn't even get those 7 friends to agree Jurassic Park is great. 1 Hates Star Wars, its a random collection of people. Again 7 people is alot. Imagine if the first 7 people you asked about the TDK said they all didn't like it. That would be Strange. No difference. 7 people agreeing on one thing is pretty surprising. 

 

Your friends hate movies.

[luna]

Your friends hate movies.

clearly they hate the correct ones.

[luna]

the quibbling over the age of the boy seems rather silly - we only needed to know that he was growing up. we don't need to know precise details.

[lab276]

I'm not sure the concept is earth shattering and I could've done without the first alcoholic father, but other than those, I quite liked it. The mundanities and littleness of it all is what makes it. I like these slice of life films, if you liked this too, I'd recommend Whisper of the Heart. B+

Edited September 5, 2014 by lab276

[Water Bottle]

I'm not sure the concept is earth shattering and I could've done without the first alcoholic father, but other than those, I quite liked it. The mundanities and littleness of it all is what makes it. I like these slice of life films, if you liked this too, I'd recommend Whisper of the Heart. B+

The execution, not the concept, is what sets this coming of age tale apart.

[Shallom Lambert]

This movie got me whipped and that's not a compliment, as much as I tried to connect I couldn't. Seemed like linklater went out of his way to make sure this depicted one of the worse possible ways to live. I understand that this was supposed to be about the little moments but how could it be so emotionless and flat. If my life was anything close to this, I would commit suicide. Ethan Hawke and Patricia did quite a job but not enough to salvage . A total wash. D.

[luna]

If my life was anything close to this, I would commit suicide.

 

pretty much this.

 

This movie got me whipped

 

not quite so much this.

[AniNate]

I didn't think anything could top Lisa in the most bizarre reactions department

[Fancyarcher]

On first glance, Richard Linklater's Boyhood might not even sound like it is anything special: just a film about a boy growing up. We've seen plenty of movies like that before, but when you discover just how they made Boyhood, it makes the film even more special. Boyhood is like no film I've ever seen before, and not because of the story, but its conception. Boyhood was shot over a 12 year period, with the same actors. No kidding. The film is actually the most realistic portrayal of child to adult that I've ever seen. Boyhood isn't just a great film, it's also a great experience. Boyhood is literally life on film.Filmed over exactly twelve years and forty five days, Boyhood is told through the eyes of a young boy named Mason (played by Ellar Coltrane). Boyhood follows Mason through various sequences of childhood: as a young six year old boy in 2002; during his preadolescence; his adolescence; and finally when he goes to college. The audience literally sees him grow up before our eyes. We also see Mason's relationships with his parents, including his divorced mother (played by Patricia Arquette), his father (played by Ethan Hawke), and his older sister, Samantha (played by Linklater's own daughter, Lorelei).Boyhood is a fantastic movie and opens perfectly with a shot of Mason looking up at the clouds in the sky (which is what is on the movie poster). The first shot is excellent because it helps to introduce us to Mason's character, and it is also a perfect representation of what a child does: question and wonder, and look up at the blue sky outside.As someone who grew up around the same time period as Mason's character, I can attest to this film being a perfect time capsule of that period. It reminded of the innocence, the trends and fads, such as watching Dragon Ball Z, playing Pokemon, reading Harry Potter, exploring the outdoors with friends, using laptops and computers, listening to popular music bands of the time, and everything else that happened to me as a child. Much like Mason's character, my mother moved us when I was younger, and I could relate to the pressures of losing friends and meeting new ones, as Mason did in the film when he moved to Texas.This film features pretty great performances from all the actors here, especially since it was shot over a twelve year period, and you can tell by how much older the actors look at the end of the picture. Ellar Coltrane, in, basically, his acting debut since the film started in 2002, is really good. Even as a child, he is totally believable. As an adolescent, he conveys great energy and the attitude of "I don't care". Patricia Arquette is a revelation to me in this film. To be honest, I've never been much of a fan of hers, but with her portrayal as Mason's mother (who doesn't have a first name and is just referred to as mom even in the credits) is absolutely terrific. She plays a stressed out woman who has to raise two kids on her own. During the house scene, at the beginning of the film, we see her arguing with her then husband which eventually leads to their divorce. She is really strong at conveying her annoyance and frustration, and most of her best scenes are when she is angry. She conveys a lot of emotion and it shows her range. Ethan Hawke is also very good as Mason's father. I particularly liked the scene where he is with his kids in the car and pretends to talk like their talking about their week when they're really not (he is disappointed because his kids never talk about what their week was like). Richard Linklater's own daughter, Lorelei, who plays Mason's older sister, Samantha, is very good, even cute at the beginning of the picture when she uses a fictional language that she created herself. She is also very good when she is being the very much stressed out, disobedient, teenage girl later on. On an interesting note, despite her character being older than Mason in the film, she is actually only three months older than Coltrane in real life.What I especially liked about Boyhood was the character arc and relationships. Mason's story is told over several episodes, and we do see his character change and grow: he goes from being a naïve young boy to a teenager who seems to be unsure of himself. The relationship between him and the various people in his life are interesting. His relationship with his father, for example, goes from being basically nonexistent and quiet, to the two actually bonding, especially when they go camping. Mason's relationship with his mother, however, is very sour throughout the film. Although this relationship could feel unsatisfied and unresolved, instead, it feels more like its only one small part of the bigger picture.Boyhood is a film that gave me a feeling of satisfaction. Richard Linklater has really captured the feeling of childhood innocence and the struggles of growing up. I cannot recommend it more than this: Boyhood is a masterpiece of filmmaking and one of the very best films of the year.

 

10 / 10

Edited September 15, 2014 by Pokearcher

[Dark Jedi Master 007]

I can't believe the word suicide is being thrown around here...I mean, I guess you could commit suicide over anything, really, but to say that living Mason's life would lead you to suicide just seems a little ridiculous.