According to Salon, Boyhood "isn’t quite like anything else in the history of cinema". I disagree. Like, a lot. There was one part of Boyhood that I felt I hadn't seen before (sure, a lot of it in Skins and teen movies, but what makes them any lesser than Boyhood?), and I'll get onto that in a while.
Boyhood is disconnected-I don't know when the years ended and started, and while I wouldn't want it spoonfed to me, I would like to know when in time I am (just how old he is and stuff, nothing major). In addition, I never learnt any of the side characters' names. Professor Stepdad's name was... I want to say Bill?
Speaking of Professor Stepdad, he was part of what I hadn't seen before. The abuse scenes were not only chilling, but completely unique. It shed light on an unseen problem. It was well-structured, foreshadowed-it was a good scene. How he was treated afterwards, however? Not so good. In my notes I have written "What happened to Mindy and Randy???". I was hoping that they'd come back at the end of the film (here's an idea for next time, Linklater-have Randy be Mason's college roommate or something).
This ties in to a bigger part of the film: its almost-exclusive focus on Mason. Everything is introduced through him, even adult conflicts. While this is a boon, it is also a problem. People are forgotten as quickly as they come. The cast is cornbread: no LGBT representation, and one non-white character. It was honestly a little ridiculous.
In general, the film was just SO boring. It was too mundane. Honestly, it should have focused on the abuse (or the aftereffects of the abuse on Mindy and Randy).
Rating: four stars out of six (if only for the abuse scenes)
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