Boyhood

I'd rather folks see this film without much knowledge of the "plot" per se, as the film, ambitiously shot with the same core group of actors over a 12-year span, does a fine job of recounting the vibe and narrative prism of one's "Boyhood" memories of Mason as he makes his way towards adulthood from childhood, with scenes detailing touchstone events, along with inter-familial scenes amongst a fractured family, and somewhat extended family at times.

Richard Linklater, along with his core crew, deserves a lot of credit for maintaining focus and narrative trajectory of the story, literally waiting years to see it to fruition. It's not the most special-effects-laden film you'll see at the theaters this year, but perhaps one of the most human stories you'll see in a film, with the feeling of real time passing, because it did, and the time jumps are deftly edited and cut from one scene to the next, not as jarring as you'd think the cuts would be from the time hops.

The inter-generational dimension this film offers is quite haunting in spots, there's a term from Buffy the Vampire lore, called "I'm not done baking", and with a film like this, you seamlessly see bits of the baking process happening throughout the film until its conclusion.

I give it 3.75 stars, or a grade of A-.