Boyhood

• Title: Boyhood
• IMDb: link

Shot over the course of 12 years, Boyhood is one of the most ambitious projects any filmmaker has attempted to tackle. It’s also easily one of the best films of the year.

Starting the project at age 5 we witness Ellar Coltrane grow-up as Mason over the filming of Richard Linklater‘s latest film which began production in 2002 and finally arrived in theaters in 2014. Over its 165-minute running time Mason’s scripted tale delves into his relationships with both his divorced parents (Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke), the complexities of modern-day extended families, and the journey of Mason from grade school to college.

Begun without a finished script, but with an established beginning and ending, Linklater adapted the story by the changes he saw in his cast over the years. Arquette and Hawke carry much of the early scenes of the movie while Coltrane takes over a larger part of the story as he grows as an actor.

Although the film jumps a bit here and there (do to the gaps in filming over the course of more than a decade), Linklater keeps his cast together and focused on delivering a clear and coherent tale while all of his actors were involved with any number of other projects. The attempt to create something like Boyhood is one thing, but to deliver such a strong finished result is a testament to everyone involved.

Although the DVD comes without any extras to speak of, the Blu-ray includes a UltraViolet digital copy of the film along with a behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of the movie and a Q&A with the filmmaker and cast.

[Paramount, Blu-ray $39.99 / DVD $29.99]