In 2002 director Richard Linklater began a film about the life of a five-year-old boy named Mason, played by Ellar Coltrane. Over the next twelve years Linklater continued to film Coltrane, which resulted in the film Boyhood.

Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette play Mason’s divorced parents, with Linklater’s own daughter Lorelei appearing as Mason’s older sister. The entire cast is fantastic, and audiences will quickly forget that they are watching a group of actors, but are instead watching an actual family.

The idea of shooting a single film for twelve years is remarkable to begin with, but it’s not simply a gimmick in the case of Boyhood. The experiment itself is not entirely foreign to Linklater, who revisited characters Celine and Jesse every nine years for his Before trilogy. Boyhood is genuinely an excellent film and once things get moving viewers will forget that the film they are watching took twelve years to make, as even at two-and-a-half hours long, the film moves quite quickly. Linklater never tells us exactly what year it is, but we are able to figure it out ourselves by the music played, mentions of politics, and the evolution of Ethan Hawkes facial hair.

Come Oscar time everyone will certainly be talking about this film. Don’t miss out on one of the most magical experiences of the year and see Boyhood as soon as possible.

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