WARNING: BOYHOOD IS FOR MATURE AUDIENCES. IT INCLUDES FOUL LANGUAGE, ABUSE, DRINKING, AND SEXUAL INNUENDOS. THIS ARTICLE ALSO INCLUDES SPOILERS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
If there’s one thing I hate, it’s the twenty-first century. Back in the early nineties and early 2000s, media and memes were funny, beautiful, and epic! Now, music’s bland and repetitive; people take selfies, twerk, and talk with text language/slang I don’t understand; the video game industry is filled with FPS (First Person Shooter) games; and it has ruined some great careers. *Cough cough* Charlie Sheen *cough* I like to call this the “Twenty-first Century Syndrome Theory,” but at least there’s still some things in media I consider amazing. In music, there are songs by bands and singers like Michael Jackson, a lot of country singers, and Sonitus Vir. As far as TV goes, the only shows considered gold could be Courage the Cowardly Dog and Gravity Falls. The video game industry hasn’t been harshly harmed by the twenty-first century; it still has amazing games like Dust: An Elysian Tail, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and the Ōkami games. Then, there are a few twenty-first century movies that I consider magnum opuses. Actually, these movies are the least affected by this century. One of them is Boyhood, and I’ve got to be honest here: it’s a work of art.
While Boyhood isn’t my favorite movie, it’s on my list (FORESHADOWING!). First, I’d like to talk about its development. The film was documented from 2002 to 2013. Although it came out this year, it took the rest of last year to organize the clips, add music, etc. What do I mean by this? I mean the entire film had the same actors and the same locations as they age. This is what I can only describe as pure effort. That’s three times longer than the development of Dust: An Elysian Tail! If something had longer development than my favorite video game of all time, that’s saying something.
Now for the plot. Boyhood is a coming of age movie following the life of Mason Evans, Jr. and his family. At first, we watch Mason, his sister, Samantha, and his mother, Olivia, living. His mother is divorced, because their father, Mason, Sr., wasn’t responsible enough, even though he does fun activities with them. Soon, Olivia plans to complete her college degree and they move. She marries her professor, Bill Welbrock, blending their families. Bill seems like a nice guy… until he starts drinking. He starts abusing both his wife and his children and Olivia divorces him and takes her kids with her. After his mother’s marriage to Jim, a veteran from the Iraq War, Mason is a lustful teenager who starts drinking and smoking marijuana. On his fifteenth birthday, his own father has now matured and has a wife and a baby. He takes him to see his wife’s parents, who give him a Beatles CD, a personalized Bible, and a shotgun (WHAT KIND OF GRANDPARENT WOULD GIVE A TEENAGER A SHOTGUN? IS HE A DESCENDANT OF AL CAPONE OR SOMETHING?). Mason then gets a girlfriend named Sheena and becomes interested in photography. After returning from a party, he sees Jim, drunk, and argues with him about coming home late. Some time after, Olivia divorces him. One year later, Mason visits the University of Texas, because he’s now a senior. Graduating high school comes with a price: his breakup with Sheena. His family throws him a graduation party, and Mason, Sr., teaches him important lessons about his breakup. After packing up, Olivia is upset with life and knows she’s going to die soon. Mason, Jr., helps her feel better and goes to college. He meets his roommate and he and two girls visit Big Bend National Park. One of the girls, Nicole, asks Mason whether people seize moments or the moments seize them. He replies: “They are always in the moment.”
Mason has to be one of the most well-developed characters I’ve ever seen. We get to see him grow from a 6-year-old who is full of energy and reads Playboy magazines secretly (HOW IS THAT EVEN LEGAL?!) to a mature 18-year-old in college majoring in photography. We see his face get older, his hairstyle changing, and he even grows a small beard. Even his sister, Samantha, is developed well. First, she was an annoying brat, then an irresponsible older sister, and finally she learns her lessons and becomes a likeable character. I also like how she dyed her hair sometimes to reflect her moods. The settings are beautiful as well, especially when Mason and Mason, Sr., go camping. His parents are likeable, too–well, except for Bill. He’s a jerkface. Olivia is a great mother figure and goes through so much that I actually felt bad for her. Mason, Sr., is a cool guy too, even if he is pretty irresponsible.
This movie is simply beautiful, with an interesting past, an amazing plot, well-thought-out characters, and even a great soundtrack (it included my nostalgic songs!). While it may not be the best movie, I still love it.
RATING: 10/10 (Personal Perfection)
NEXT TIME: Top 20 Favorite Movies! (FORESHADOWING REVEALED!)