Boyhood - good but overrated

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  • Boyhood - good but overrated

    I'm glad I saw Boyhood and it did hold my interest. Dialogue was realistic and the characters were certainly multi-dimensional and authentic. I was especially impressed at how seamless the transitions between years were. With that said, I don't believe it would be getting all the acclaim were it not for the 12 year device. I've seen several movies in the past year with more original stories and characters and subjects I've never seen explored before on film. I admire Linklater for all he does, but this wasn't his best. In fact, even though it's a documentary, the series Seven Up (and the "sequels") made a much bigger impression on me. It actually takes place over a span of 56 years with the same people (in England).

  • #2
    Re: Boyhood - good but overrated

    I agree 100%. I guess I did not "get" Boyhood.

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    • #3
      Re: Boyhood - good but overrated

      Unlike 7 Up, Boyhood is not a documentary. It's a written and improvised story. Linklater said he wouldn't let the boy kiss a girl in the movie or smoke or anything like that unless the boy had already done so in his real life, but this story wasn't about his real life.

      I was impressed with all the things that you were, and with the fact that it held my interest even though in the scene where the teen boys were messing around and it looked like there was going to be trouble -- and in any other movie, there would have been trouble for dramatic effect -- in this movie, the trouble didn't happen. It was much more like real life, and even without big plot points, it still held our interest. What kept us interested is the growth and change in the kids and the changes in the parent's lives over time. We watched a life unfold. I do love the 7 Up series for the same reason. Of course Boyhood wouldn't be getting the acclaim without the 12 year device, because that real growth and change is what takes the place of a usual movie's plot twists and heightened reality. Instead, you see the scope of a family and a childhood's entire span and marvel at the chance to see it all at once, like watching a flower's growth from seed to bud to full bloom in a high speed photography. In real life, it happens over such a long span that you don't notice where the changes happen, but this lets you watch the whole thing unfold so you can see it as a whole, which you don't otherwise get to do. It gives you a perspective on what a life is.



      Originally posted by Pasquali56 View Post
      I'm glad I saw Boyhood and it did hold my interest. Dialogue was realistic and the characters were certainly multi-dimensional and authentic. I was especially impressed at how seamless the transitions between years were. With that said, I don't believe it would be getting all the acclaim were it not for the 12 year device. I've seen several movies in the past year with more original stories and characters and subjects I've never seen explored before on film. I admire Linklater for all he does, but this wasn't his best. In fact, even though it's a documentary, the series Seven Up (and the "sequels") made a much bigger impression on me. It actually takes place over a span of 56 years with the same people (in England).

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      • #4
        Re: Boyhood - good but overrated

        Joan, I agree with everything you said. I guess my point is that I don't think it was the best movie last year. Still, I give Linklater a lot of credit. The guy can write and direct -- and he has a lot of heart.

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        • #5
          Re: Boyhood - good but overrated

          You know, I'm not sure it's the BEST movie of the year either, because I am also impressed by Selma, Theory of Everything, and others that are in contention. (I gave a whole list in the best movies of the year thread). I would like to see the awards spread around so every worthy film gets some honors and gets more people to see it, Boyhood included.

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          • #6
            Re: Boyhood - good but overrated

            Agree with you both -- most outstanding element is that it was filmed over 12 years. For me, it's not the best or even the most memorable film I've seen this year.

            In terms of Linklater's cinema verite projects, I think that the trilogy of Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Before Midnight is a masterpiece. Boyhood doesn't rise to that level.

            Perhaps Linklater deserves the Oscar for best director (for the "Before" films, in any case), but I hope that best picture goes to Selma.

            Late Night Writer

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            • #7
              Re: Boyhood - good but overrated

              I also agree. For me there was no WOW factor in Boyhood. To quote the mom, "Thought there would be more".

              But I did see Selma and WOW. I hope it wins best picture at the Oscars too.

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              • #8
                Re: Boyhood - good but overrated

                It was a great idea - just needed a little imagination to go with it.

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                • #9
                  Re: Boyhood - good but overrated

                  This is the only one of the best picture nominees that I haven't seen and don't intend to. It strikes me as "stunt" film-making, and I haven't heard anything about it that makes me want to see it.
                  "People who work in Hollywood are the ones who didn't quit." -- Lawrence Kasdan

                  Please visit my website and blog: www.lauridonahue.com.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Boyhood - good but overrated

                    If there's one thing Richard Linklater is not, it's a "stunt" filmmaker. He makes whatever he wants to make, audience or money be damned.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Boyhood - good but overrated

                      Here is my take on BOYHOOD (which I think is a true work of cinematic art):

                      http://www.letterboxd.com/jaythornton/film/boyhood/

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                      • #12
                        Re: Boyhood - good but overrated

                        I love your review.

                        Originally posted by ihavebiglips View Post
                        Here is my take on BOYHOOD (which I think is a true work of cinematic art):

                        http://www.letterboxd.com/jaythornton/film/boyhood/

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                        • #13
                          Re: Boyhood - good but overrated

                          Originally posted by Joaneasley View Post
                          I love your review.
                          Thanks, Joan!

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                          • #14
                            Re: Boyhood - good but overrated

                            Originally posted by LauriD View Post
                            It strikes me as "stunt" film-making, and I haven't heard anything about it that makes me want to see it.
                            Save your admission ticket money. All experimental filmmaking aside, it's a slow boat to China, a drag of a trip, and it never 'arrives.'
                            “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

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                            • #15
                              Re: Boyhood - good but overrated

                              Obviously, it doesn't work for everybody. The truth of it inspires awe in some of us who have been a child or a parent.

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