Boyhood (2014 film)

In 2002, 6-year-old Mason Evans lives with his divorced mother, Olivia, and 8-year-old sister, Samantha, in a small town in Texas. Mason overhears Olivia arguing with her boyfriend, saying she has no free time due to parenting. The following year, Olivia and the children move to Houston so she can attend the University of Houston to get a better job.

Mason's father, Mason Sr., visits Houston in 2004 and takes Mason and Samantha bowling. When he drops the children off at home, he argues with Olivia while the kids watch from a window. Olivia takes Mason to one of her classes, and introduces him to her professor, Bill Welbrock; Mason sees them flirt.

In 2005, Olivia and Bill have married and blended their two families. They share experiences such as playing video games and attending a midnight release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Mason and Samantha are enrolled in the same school as their step-siblings, Mindy and Randy. There, Mason befriends Nicole, who has a crush on him.

The next year, Mason and Samantha bond with their father as he takes them out for a day in Houston, culminating in a Houston Astros game and a sleepover at his house. Olivia continues her education and is initially supportive of Bill's strict parenting style, which includes many chores for the children and an enforced shaving of Mason's long hair.

In 2007, Bill gradually becomes abusive and violent towards Olivia and the children due to his alcoholism. After he assaults Olivia, she moves out with Mason and Samantha to a friend's house and files for divorce. Her step children stay with their father, since Olivia is unable to locate their biological mother.

Next, when Mason Sr. learns that Samantha has a boyfriend, he talks to her and Mason about contraception. Then on a camping trip with his son, they connect through music, film, and Mason's blossoming interest in girls. The teens have grown into their lives in San Marcos, a town close to Austin.

In 2009, Mason is bullied at school and playfully teased on a camping trip, but starts receiving attention from girls. Olivia takes a position teaching psychology at college and moves in with Jim, a student and Iraq War veteran.

The next year, Mason is now in high school and experiments with marijuana and alcohol. Mason Sr., who has remarried and has a baby, takes his kids to visit his wife's parents. For Mason's 15th birthday, Mason Sr. gives him a suit and CDs; Mason's step-grandparents give him a Bible and a shotgun.

In 2011, Mason is lectured by his photography teacher, who sees his potential but is disappointed by his lack of ambition. He later attends a party and meets Sheena, who becomes his girlfriend. After Mason arrives home late one night from a party, a drunk Jim confronts him about his late hours. Olivia and Jim subsequently break up, and the family's financial situation worsens.

The following year, Mason and Sheena visit Samantha, who is attending the University of Texas at Austin, where they share their hopes and fears about college. Samantha's roommate discovers them asleep together in her dorm bed.

In 2013, towards the end of Mason's senior year in high school, he has a painful breakup with Sheena, wins the second place silver medal in a state photography contest, and is awarded college scholarship money. His family throws him a graduation party and toasts his success. Mason Sr. gives him advice about his breakup.

Planning to sell the house and downsize, Olivia meets Samantha and Mason for lunch and asks them to sort through their possessions. Later that year, as Mason prepares to leave for college, Olivia breaks down, disillusioned by how quickly life has passed.

At Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Mason moves into his dorm and meets his new roommate Dalton, Dalton's girlfriend Barb, and Barb's roommate, Nicole. Mason is given an edible by Barb, and the group goes hiking at Big Bend Ranch State Park. Nicole shares with Mason her belief that, rather than people seizing moments, moments seize people; Mason agrees.

{{cast list|

• Ellar Coltrane as Mason Evans Jr.
• Patricia Arquette as Olivia Evans
• Ethan Hawke as Mason Evans Sr.
• Lorelei Linklater as Samantha Evans
• Libby Villari as Catherine
• Marco Perella as Bill Welbrock
• Brad Hawkins as Jim
• Jamie Howard as Mindy Welbrock
• Andrew Villarreal as Randy Welbrock
• Jenni Tooley as Annie
• Richard Andrew Jones as Annie's father
• Karen Jones as Annie's mother
• Bill Wise as Steve Evans
• Zoe Graham as Sheena
• Charlie Sexton as Jimmy
• Barbara Chisholm as Carol
• Cassidy Johnson as Abby
• Richard Robichaux as Mason's boss
• Steven Chester Prince as Ted
• Tom McTigue as Mr. Turlington
• Will Harris as Sam's boyfriend at college
• Andrea Chen as Sam's college roommate
• Maximillian McNamara as Dalton
• Taylor Weaver as Barb, Dalton's girlfriend
• Jessi Mechler as Nicole
• Nick Krause as Charlie
• Savannah Welch as Olivia's student

}}

In May 2002, Richard Linklater said that he would begin shooting an untitled film in his home city of Houston that summer.Blackburn, Rachel. (May 16, 2002) PA News Shooting begins on film that will take 12 years. He planned to assemble the cast and crew for a few weeks' filming annually for 12 years. He said: "I've long wanted to tell the story of a parent–child relationship that follows a boy from the first through the 12th grade and ends with him going off to college. But the dilemma is that kids change so much that it is impossible to cover that much ground. And I am totally ready to adapt the story to whatever he is going through." IFC, the film's distributor, committed to a film budget of US$200,000 per year, or $2.4 million over the 12-year shooting period.{{cite news|last1=Chang|first1=Justin|title=Richard Linklater on 'Boyhood,' the 'Before' Trilogy and the Luxury of Time|url=https://variety.com/2014/film/news/richard-linklater-boyhood-ethan-hawke-patricia-arquette-1201243485/|access-date=July 4, 2014|work=Variety|date=June 25, 2014|archive-date=July 1, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701210647/http://variety.com/2014/film/news/richard-linklater-boyhood-ethan-hawke-patricia-arquette-1201243485/|url-status=live}}

Linklater hired the six-year-old Ellar Coltrane to play the boy.{{cite web |last=Carroll |first=Larry |url=http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1546688/11282006/story.jhtml |title=Got Plans For 2013? Check Out Richard Linklater's '12-Year Movie' |publisher=MTV Movies |date=November 29, 2006 |access-date=April 27, 2014 |archive-date=March 12, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100312103019/http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1546688/11282006/story.jhtml |url-status=dead }}{{Cite news |last=Rea |first=Steven |date=May 19, 2002 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |title=De Niro reassures a studio about a boy |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&p_action=search&s_search_type=customized&p_field_advanced-0=title&p_text_advanced-0=(De%20Niro%20reassures%20a%20studio%20about%20a%20boy) |at=Features Arts & Entertainment section, page H9 |access-date=July 4, 2014 |archive-date=July 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714191154/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&p_action=search&s_search_type=customized&p_field_advanced-0=title&p_text_advanced-0=(De%20Niro%20reassures%20a%20studio%20about%20a%20boy) |url-status=live }} The cast could not sign contracts for the film due to the De Havilland Law, which makes it illegal to contract someone for more than seven years of work. Linklater told Ethan Hawke that he would have to finish the film if Linklater died.{{cite episode | series=Conan | credits=O'Brien, Conan (host); Hawke, Ethan; Rajskub, Mary Lynn; Scott, Jamie | url=http://teamcoco.com/video/full-episode-tues-8-5-ethan-hawke-mary-lynn-rajskub-and-musical-guest-jamie-scott | title=Full Episode — Tues. 8/5 – Ethan Hawke, Mary Lynn Rajskub, And Musical Guest Jamie Scott | network=TBS | airdate=2014-08-05 | access-date=August 6, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140818052359/http://teamcoco.com/video/full-episode-tues-8-5-ethan-hawke-mary-lynn-rajskub-and-musical-guest-jamie-scott | archive-date=August 18, 2014 | url-status=dead }}{{r|stern20140710}}

File:Ellar Coltrane 2015.jpg

Boyhood began filming without a completed script. Linklater had prepared each character's basic plot points, and the ending—including the final shot—but otherwise wrote the script for the next year's filming after rewatching the previous year's footage, incorporating the changes he saw in each actor. All major actors participated in the writing process, contributing their life experiences; for example, Hawke's character is based on his and Linklater's fathers—both Texan insurance agents who divorced and remarried—and Arquette's character is based on her mother, who resumed her education later in life and became a psychotherapist.{{r|stern20140710}}

Despite the unconventional screenwriting process, Linklater stated that he had a general storyline in mind, and that the actors did not change the general direction of the story:

People think I asked Ellar, "What did you do in school the other day? Let's make a scene about that!" That never happened. The time we spent together was me just gauging where he was at in his life—what his concerns were and what he was doing. Then I would think, maybe we could move the camping trip up, and we can do this or that.{{cite web|last1=McKittrick|first1=Christopher|title="I want to tell a story in a new way" – Linklater on Boyhood|url=http://creativescreenwriting.com/i-want-to-tell-a-story-in-a-new-way-linklater-on-boyhood/|website=Creative Screenwriting|access-date=January 10, 2015|archive-date=March 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325020049/http://creativescreenwriting.com/i-want-to-tell-a-story-in-a-new-way-linklater-on-boyhood/|url-status=live}}

Scripts for certain scenes were sometimes finished the night prior to shooting. According to Hawke, the discussion about the possibility of additional Star Wars films is "the only honest-to-god improvised moment in the movie".{{r|stern20140710}} The cast and crew gathered once or twice each year, on varying dates, to film for three or four days. The production team spent approximately two months in pre-production, and one month in post-production each year.{{cite web|title=Boyhood Q&A|url=http://sbiff.org/boyhood-qa/|website=Santa Barbara International Film Festival|access-date=January 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122092006/http://sbiff.org/boyhood-qa/|archive-date=January 22, 2015|url-status=dead}} When Arquette became the lead on the TV series Medium, she filmed her scenes over weekends.{{cite web | url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/10/the-making-of-boyhood-richard-linklater-s-12-year-journey-to-create-an-american-masterpiece.html | title=The Making of 'Boyhood': Richard Linklater's 12-Year Journey to Create An American Masterpiece | newspaper=The Daily Beast | date=July 10, 2014 | access-date=December 13, 2014 | author=Stern, Marlow | archive-date=January 4, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104043046/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/10/the-making-of-boyhood-richard-linklater-s-12-year-journey-to-create-an-american-masterpiece.html | url-status=live }}

Hawke said in 2013:

{{blockquote|It's Tolstoy-esque in scope. I thought Before Sunrise was the most unique thing I would ever be a part of, but Rick has engaged me in something even more strange. Doing a scene with a young boy at the age of seven when he talks about why do raccoons die, and at the age of 12 when he talks about video games, and 17 when he asks me about girls, and have it be the same actor—to watch his voice and body morph—it's a little bit like time-lapse photography of a human being.{{cite news |first=Kevin |last=Jagernauth |date=June 6, 2013 |title=Ethan Hawke Says Richard Linklater's Secret, Long Developing 'Boyhood' Will Be Released In 2 Years |url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/ethan-hawke-says-richard-linklaters-secret-long-developing-boyhood-will-be-released-in-2-years-20130606 |publisher=Indiewire |agency=The Playlist (blog) |access-date=8 June 2013 |archive-date=April 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426235111/http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/ethan-hawke-says-richard-linklaters-secret-long-developing-boyhood-will-be-released-in-2-years-20130606 |url-status=live }}}}

Although Linklater had referred to the project as Boyhood during the early years of production, in 2013 he settled on the title 12 Years, but was forced to rename it due to the release of 12 Years a Slave the year prior. In consideration of the possibility that the actors' circumstances or availability might change over the extended period of production, Linklater had also observed that the film potentially could also have been named Motherhood, Fatherhood, etc.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKKWkRor_Iw |title=The Making of Boyhood |date=December 21, 2014 |publisher=YouTube |access-date=January 12, 2020 |archive-date=August 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200830014010/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKKWkRor_Iw&gl=US&hl=en |url-status=live }} Hawke was amazed that the producers "still had their job" at the film's completion, despite "(having) to hide a couple hundred thousand dollars a year for over a decade while we slowly made this movie".{{r|conan20140805}} Despite the risks, Linklater was allowed an unusual level of freedom with the production, never having to show IFC the work as it progressed.

Costume designer Kari Perkins had to review each year's footage to ensure there were no accidental repetitions and to create a "flow" to the costumes.{{cite news|last1=Wooding|first1=Andy|title=In Conversation: Kari Perkins (Boyhood costume designer)|url=http://filmdoctor.co.uk/2015/01/28/in-conversation-kari-perkins-costume-designer-of-boyhood-devils-knot-mud-part-2/|access-date=February 23, 2015|work=Film Doctor|date=February 23, 2015|archive-date=February 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210134538/http://filmdoctor.co.uk/2015/01/28/in-conversation-kari-perkins-costume-designer-of-boyhood-devils-knot-mud-part-2/|url-status=live}}

When discussing shooting format in an interview, Linklater discussed how insistent he was on shooting 35mm film:

We very intentionally shot in the same way throughout, just to get a unified look. 35mm negative is about the most stable thing you could shoot on. We kinda had that from the beginning. I remember it not even being a question. You know the HD formats, I didn't really like them very much at all. I'm just not warming up to them. But they change a lot. The film would have six different looks if we tried to keep up.{{Cite web|url=http://www.fastcocreate.com/3032702/the-challenges-of-a-12-year-film-shoot-according-to-boyhood-director-richard-linklater|title=The Challenges Of A 12-Year Film Shoot, According To "Boyhood" Director Richard Linklater|website=Co.Create|date=July 6, 2014 |language=en-US|access-date=2016-04-08|archive-date=April 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420234258/http://www.fastcocreate.com/3032702/the-challenges-of-a-12-year-film-shoot-according-to-boyhood-director-richard-linklater|url-status=live}}

IFC Films held domestic rights to the film, with Mongrel Media distributing the film in Canada. Universal Pictures acquired international distribution of the film in all other countries except for France and the Benelux. This film was part of Peter Kujawski's efforts to distribute Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty and Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street outside the United States.

{{Further information|Boyhood (Music from the Motion Picture){{!}}Boyhood (Music from the Motion Picture)}}

Boyhood premiered theatrically on July 11, 2014, in a limited release in four theaters in North America and grossed $387,618, with an average of $77,524 per theater, ranking number 19 at the box office. The film expanded the next week to 34 theaters and grossed $1.2 million, with an average of $34,418 per theater. The film's wide release occurred on August 15, opening in 771 theaters and grossing $2 million, with an average of $2,584 per theater and ranking number 11. The film's widest release in the U.S. was 775 theaters. The film ultimately earned $25.4 million domestically and $32 million internationally for a total of $57.3 million, against a $4 million production budget.

Boyhood has an approval rating of {{RT data|score}} based on {{RT data|count}} professional reviews on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of {{RT data|average}}. Its critical consensus reads: "Epic in technical scale but breathlessly intimate in narrative scope, Boyhood is a sprawling investigation of the human condition."{{Cite Rotten Tomatoes |id={{RT data|rtid|noprefix=y}} |type=m |title=Boyhood (2014) |access-date={{RT data|access date}}}}{{RT data|edit}}{{cbignore}} Metacritic (which uses a weighted average) assigned Boyhood a score of 100 out of 100 based on 50 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".{{Cite Metacritic |id=boyhood |type=movie |title=Boyhood (2014) |access-date=February 26, 2022}}{{cbignore}} It is the highest rated of all films reviewed upon their original release on the site,{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/browse/movies/score/metascore/all?sort=desc |title=Highest Rated Movies of All Time |publisher=CBS Interactive |work=Metacritic |access-date=July 20, 2014 |archive-date=July 19, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719040300/http://www.metacritic.com/browse/movies/score/metascore/all?sort=desc |url-status=live }} and one of only fourteen films in the site's history to achieve a perfect aggregate score.{{cite web|title=The Best Movies of All Time|url=http://www.metacritic.com/browse/movies/score/metascore/all/filtered?sort=desc|access-date=Dec 29, 2019|publisher=CBS Interactive|work=Metacritic|archive-date=March 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200314080435/https://www.metacritic.com/browse/movies/score/metascore/all/filtered?sort=desc|url-status=live}} It also holds the highest number of reviews for a film with a score of 100.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

File:Patricia Arquette 2015.jpg

A collection of 25 French critiques on AlloCiné, including those from Le Monde and Cahiers du cinéma, indicates wide approval, with an average score of 4.0 out of 5.{{cite web |url=http://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-226260/critiques/ |title=Boyhood critiques presse et spectateurs |publisher=Allocine |access-date=August 27, 2014 |archive-date=September 3, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903081337/http://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-226260/critiques/ |url-status=live }}

In her review for The New York Times, Manohla Dargis stated that the film's realism was "jolting" and "so brilliantly realized and understated that it would be easy to overlook".{{cite news |author=Manohla Dargis |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/11/movies/movie-review-linklaters-boyhood-is-a-model-of-cinematic-realism.html |title=Movie Review: Boyhood |work=The New York Times |date=July 10, 2014 |access-date=December 31, 2014 |archive-date=December 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218081601/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/11/movies/movie-review-linklaters-boyhood-is-a-model-of-cinematic-realism.html |url-status=live }} A. O. Scott, also writing for The New York Times, called Boyhood the best film of 2014, saying that he could not think of any film that had affected him the way Boyhood had in his 15 years as a professional film critic.{{cite news |author=A.O. Scott |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/14/movies/a-o-scotts-top-10-movies-2014-boyhood-and-more.html |title=A.O. Scott's Top 10 Movies 2014 |work=The New York Times |date=December 11, 2014 |access-date=December 31, 2014 |archive-date=December 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228204320/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/14/movies/a-o-scotts-top-10-movies-2014-boyhood-and-more.html |url-status=live }} Peter Travers of Rolling Stone also named Boyhood the best movie of the year, calling it the year's "biggest emotional powerhouse".{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/lists/10-best-movies-of-2014-20141204/boyhood-20141204 |title=10 Best Movies of 2014 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=December 31, 2014 |archive-date=January 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150103004740/http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/lists/10-best-movies-of-2014-20141204/boyhood-20141204 |url-status=live }} Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian called it "one of the greatest films of the decade".{{cite web |author=Peter Bradshaw |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jul/10/boyhood-review-richard-linklater-film |title=Boyhood review – one of the great films of the decade | Film |work=The Guardian |date=July 10, 2014 |access-date=July 18, 2014 |archive-date=January 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180116131824/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jul/10/boyhood-review-richard-linklater-film |url-status=live }} Richard Roeper gave the film an A+, calling it one of the greatest films he had ever seen.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRJWmMT8KYk |title=Boyhood | Richard Roeper Reviews |publisher=YouTube |access-date=July 18, 2014 |archive-date=August 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809062651/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRJWmMT8KYk |url-status=live }} Wai Chee Dimock, writing in the Los Angeles Review of Books, compared Linklater's film with Nobel laureate J. M. Coetzee's memoir, Boyhood: Scenes from Provincial Life.Wai Chee Dimock, "A Boyhood Epic" http://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/a-boyhood-epic {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808053952/http://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/a-boyhood-epic |date=August 8, 2014 }}

Many critics singled out Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke's performances for praise. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle said that watching Arquette was "like watching a generation's hopes and struggles, presented by an actress with a fullness of emotion, and yet with utter matter-of-factness".{{cite web |url=http://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Boyhood-review-boundaries-of-cinema-pushed-5628295.php |title=Boyhood review: Linklater changes the game |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |date=July 17, 2014 |access-date=January 14, 2015 |archive-date=December 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225000718/http://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Boyhood-review-boundaries-of-cinema-pushed-5628295.php |url-status=live }} Michael Phillips, writing for the Chicago Tribune, lauded Arquette's "lack of pretense or affectation as a performer".{{cite web |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/ct-boyhood-movie-review-20140716-column.html |title=Boyhood review |work=Chicago Tribune |date=July 16, 2014 |access-date=January 14, 2015 |archive-date=January 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150111234706/http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/ct-boyhood-movie-review-20140716-column.html |url-status=live }} Dana Stevens of Slate called Hawke's performance "Superb".{{Cite web|last=Stevens|first=Dana|date=2014-07-10|title=Richard Linklater's Boyhood: As Transcendent as It Is Ordinary—Just Like Life|url=https://slate.com/culture/2014/07/boyhood-starring-ethan-hawke-patricia-arquette-and-ellar-coltrane-and-directed-by-richard-linklater-reviewed.html|access-date=2021-09-28|website=Slate Magazine|language=en}} Indiewire, while ranking Ethan Hawke's best performances, felt that "Ethan swerves away from that easy route and instead digs down deep to create this portrait of a man who's flawed but committed to growing, or at the very least doing the best he can today and hoping he'll be able to do so again tomorrow".{{Cite web|last=Ehrlich|first=David|date=2018-08-20|title=Ethan Hawke's 13 Best Performances — IndieWire Critics Survey|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2018/08/ethan-hawke-best-movie-performances-1201996329/|access-date=2021-09-28|website=IndieWire|language=en}}

File:Ethan Hawke Austin Texas.jpg nomination for his performance.]]

Boyhood also earned the admiration of other filmmakers and artists. Director Christopher Nolan named Boyhood as his favorite film of 2014, calling it "extraordinary".{{cite web |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/christopher-nolan-interstellar-critics-making-760897 |title=Christopher Nolan on Interstellar critics |newspaper=The Hollywood Reporter |date=January 3, 2015 |access-date=February 8, 2015 |archive-date=January 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117111636/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/christopher-nolan-interstellar-critics-making-760897 |url-status=live }} Writer-director Mike Leigh, while accepting a fellowship from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 2015, called it "the definitive independent film".{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/baftas/11398713/Baftas-2015-awards-No-higher-praise-for-Boyhood-12-years-in-the-making.html |title=Baftas 2015 awards: the Baftas should be bold – not boring |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=February 8, 2015 |access-date=February 9, 2015 |archive-date=February 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150209210130/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/baftas/11398713/Baftas-2015-awards-No-higher-praise-for-Boyhood-12-years-in-the-making.html |url-status=live }} Writer Joyce Carol Oates tweeted her support, saying: "It is rare that a film so mimics the rhythms and texture of actual life as Boyhood. Such seeming spontaneity is a very high art."{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/joycecaroloates/status/508815737507840001 |title=Joyce Carol Oates on Twitter |publisher=Twitter |access-date=February 8, 2015 |archive-date=January 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119135455/https://twitter.com/joycecaroloates/status/508815737507840001 |url-status=live }} Poet and critic Dan Chiasson wrote in a contribution to The New York Review of Books: "This is a great film, the greatest American movie I have ever seen in a theater. It is great for what we see, but it is even greater for its way of making real what we cannot see, or for suggesting that what we cannot yet see we might one day see."{{cite magazine |url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2014/sep/25/boyhood-making-real-what-we-cannot-see/ |title=Making Real What We Cannot See |magazine=The New York Review of Books |access-date=September 25, 2014 |archive-date=October 24, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024015321/http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2014/sep/25/boyhood-making-real-what-we-cannot-see/ |url-status=live |last1=Chiasson |first1=Dan }} According to Canadian philosopher Howard Adelman, "[Boyhood] is Huckleberry Finn for the twenty-first century, for it is only Mason Jr. who retains his honesty, integrity and sense of decency throughout ... a masterful movie not to be missed."{{cite web |last=Adelman |first=Howard |author-link=Howard Adelman |title=Movie Review: Richard Linklater's Boyhood |url=http://howardadelman.com/2014/09/16/movie-review-richard-linklaters-boyhood/ |date=September 16, 2014 |access-date=March 4, 2015 |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402123551/http://howardadelman.com/2014/09/16/movie-review-richard-linklaters-boyhood/ |url-status=live }} Alejandro González Iñárritu, winner of the Academy Award for Best Director in 2015 and Linklater's fellow nominee, said that when he watched Boyhood, he sent an email to Linklater and thanked him for giving "this incredible gift".{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2015/film/news/alejandro-g-inarritu-oscar-best-director-birdman-1201441108/ |title=Alejandro G. Inarritu on Oscar Glory and Why He Wouldn't Have Minded Losing |newspaper=Variety |date=February 25, 2015 |access-date=April 3, 2015 |archive-date=March 31, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150331072106/http://variety.com/2015/film/news/alejandro-g-inarritu-oscar-best-director-birdman-1201441108/ |url-status=live }}

Other critics reacted less positively to the film. Los Angeles Times critic Kenneth Turan described it as "at best, OK" and one whose "animating idea is more interesting than its actual satisfactions".{{cite web |author=Kenneth Turan |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-ca-boyhood-on-film-turan-20140803-story.html |title=Kenneth Turan takes a critic's lonely stand on Boyhood |work=Los Angeles Times |date=August 2014 |access-date=August 7, 2014 |archive-date=February 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190217182122/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-ca-boyhood-on-film-turan-20140803-story.html |url-status=live }} Sam Adams of IndieWire argued that the unanimous praise for Boyhood is bad for film criticism, as it tends to marginalize the analysis of critics who disagree with the majority; Adams further elaborated that masterpieces are not made "by unanimous praise, but by careful scrutiny".{{cite web |author=Sam Adams |url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/criticwire/why-the-unanimous-praise-for-boyhood-is-bad-for-film-criticism-and-for-boyhood-20140804 |title=Why the unanimous praise for Boyhood is bad for film criticism and for Boyhood |publisher=IndieWire |access-date=August 7, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140807001346/http://blogs.indiewire.com/criticwire/why-the-unanimous-praise-for-boyhood-is-bad-for-film-criticism-and-for-boyhood-20140804 |archive-date=August 7, 2014 |url-status=dead }} Richard Brody of The New Yorker listed the film at the top of a year-end list he called "The Negative Ten", a list of films with "significant merit", but that also "occluded the view toward the year's most accomplished and daringly original work".{{cite magazine |author=Richard Brody |url=http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/best-movies-2014?int-cid=mod-latest |title=The Best Movies of 2014 |magazine=The New Yorker | date=December 11, 2014 |access-date=December 31, 2014 |archive-date=January 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150101020839/http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/best-movies-2014?int-cid=mod-latest |url-status=live }}

Several reviewers questioned the film's underlying racial assumptions. Writing for The Atlantic, Imran Siddiquee noted: "While Linklater and the character of Mason can choose not to see it, dialogue about race is happening all around them and affecting their lives and experiences." Siddiquee also took issue with the apparent absence of non-white characters, particularly Latinos: "In this tale of a white family living in a state that borders Mexico, isn't it strange that the only time they're shown truly interacting with a Spanish-speaking non-white individual is when they are saving them from a life of manual labor?"{{cite web |last1=Siddiquee |first1=Imran |title=Not Everyone's Boyhood |date=September 10, 2014 |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/09/the-not-so-relateable-boyhood/379700/ |publisher=The Atlantic |access-date=December 7, 2018 |archive-date=December 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209165232/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/09/the-not-so-relateable-boyhood/379700/ |url-status=live }} Teo Bugbee, of The Daily Beast asserted: "As a treatise on the essential vacuity of the white liberal male, Boyhood is a staggering achievement. As a portrait of childhood in America, it is incomplete enough to be irresponsible."{{cite news |last1=Bugbee |first1=Teo |title=Black 'Boyhood' Is Always Black First, Boy Later |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/black-boyhood-is-always-black-first-boy-later |website=The Daily Beast |date=August 30, 2014 |access-date=December 7, 2018 |archive-date=April 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180429075001/https://www.thedailybeast.com/black-boyhood-is-always-black-first-boy-later |url-status=live }} Jaime Woo, of The Daily Dot, took issue with critics who identified the film as a portrait of "normal" Americans, asking: "More than one reviewer noted how impressive it was to capture these "ordinary" Americans: In fact, Salon{{'}}s Andrew O'Hehir used the word three times in his review. So what does it mean when "ordinary" in 2014 still passes as the white experience? When the questionable treatment of ethnic minorities as props for the white characters nary raises a flag?"{{cite web |last1=Woo |first1=Jaime |title=The one scene in 'Boyhood' no one is talking about |url=https://www.dailydot.com/via/one-scene-boyhood-no-one-talking/ |website=The Daily Dot |date=August 15, 2014 |access-date=December 7, 2018 |archive-date=December 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209123459/https://www.dailydot.com/via/one-scene-boyhood-no-one-talking/ |url-status=live }}

The international film magazine Sight & Sound named it the best film of 2014 after polling an international group of 112 film critics.{{cite web |publisher=S&S Contributors |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk//best-films-2014 |title=The best films of 2014 |work=Sight & Sound |access-date=November 28, 2014 |archive-date=January 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101220734/http://www.bfi.org.uk/best-films-2014 |url-status=live }} Both Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes listed Boyhood as the best-reviewed film of 2014.{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/browse/movies/score/metascore/year?sort=desc&view=condensed&year_selected=2014 |title=Best Movies for 2014 |publisher=Metacritic |access-date=December 31, 2014 |archive-date=December 29, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141229134417/http://www.metacritic.com/browse/movies/score/metascore/year?sort=desc&view=condensed&year_selected=2014 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/top/bestofrt/?year=2014 |title=Top 100 Movies of 2014 |publisher=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=December 31, 2014 |archive-date=January 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150101044959/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/top/bestofrt/?year=2014 |url-status=live }} Village Voice Film Poll voted Boyhood as the best film of the year.

Boyhood appeared on more critics' annual "best-of" lists in 2014 than any other film, including the most first-place votes.{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/feature/film-critic-top-10-lists-best-movies-of-2014 |title=Film Critic Top 10 Lists |publisher=Metacritic |access-date=December 26, 2014 |archive-date=July 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710180015/https://www.metacritic.com/feature/film-critic-top-10-lists-best-movies-of-2014 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://moviecitynews.com/2014/12/the-top-ten-lists-theres-boyhood-and-then-the-rest-of-the-list// |title=The Top Ten Lists |publisher=Movie City News |access-date=January 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102081830/http://moviecitynews.com/2014/12/the-top-ten-lists-theres-boyhood-and-then-the-rest-of-the-list/ |archive-date=January 2, 2015 |url-status=dead }} According to CriticsTop10.com, it was included on 536 lists and topped 189 of them—with the latter being a record by that site's count.{{cite web|url=http://criticstop10.com/best-of-2014/|title=Best of 2014|publisher=CriticsTop10|access-date=January 10, 2016|archive-date=January 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101125610/http://criticstop10.com/best-of-2014/|url-status=live}}

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

• 1st – Jeffrey M. Anderson – San Francisco Examiner{{cite web |author=Jeffrey M. Anderson |url=http://archives.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/2014s-best-films/Content?oid=2915500 |title=2014's best films |newspaper=San Francisco Examiner |access-date=September 8, 2015 |archive-date=October 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151009064111/http://archives.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/2014s-best-films/Content?oid=2915500 |url-status=live }}
• 1st – Marjorie Baumgarten – The Austin Chronicle{{cite news |author=Marjorie Baumgarten |url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/2015-01-02/marjorie-baumgartens-top-10-list/ |title=Marjorie Baumgarten's Top 10 List |newspaper=The Austin Chronicle |access-date=January 2, 2015 |archive-date=January 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104223622/http://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/2015-01-02/marjorie-baumgartens-top-10-list/ |url-status=live }}
• 1st – Peter Bradshaw – The Guardian{{cite web |author=Peter Bradshaw |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2014/dec/12/and-the-braddie-goes-to-peter-bradshaw-awards-his-top-10s-of-2014 |title=And the Braddie goes to ... |work=The Guardian |date=December 12, 2014 |access-date=December 18, 2014 |archive-date=December 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218085155/http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2014/dec/12/and-the-braddie-goes-to-peter-bradshaw-awards-his-top-10s-of-2014 |url-status=live }}
• 1st – Justin Chang – Variety{{cite web |author=Justin Chang |url=https://variety.com/2014/film/columns/justin-changs-top-10-films-of-2014-1201374182/ |title=Justin Chang's Top 10 Films of 2014 |work=Variety |date=December 17, 2014 |access-date=December 19, 2014 |archive-date=December 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225091721/http://variety.com/2014/film/columns/justin-changs-top-10-films-of-2014-1201374182/ |url-status=live }}
• 1st – Simon Crook – Empire{{cite web |author=Simon Crook |url=http://www.empireonline.com/features/50-best-films-2014/p14 |title=Boyhood: The 50 Best Films of 2014 |work=Empire |access-date=December 12, 2014 |archive-date=December 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213014034/http://www.empireonline.com/features/50-best-films-2014/p14 |url-status=live }}
• 1st – A. A. Dowd – The A.V. Club{{cite web |author=A.A. Dowd |url=http://www.avclub.com/article/20-best-movies-2014-213002 |title=The 20 Best Movies of 2014 |date=December 18, 2014 |publisher=The A.V. Club |access-date=December 18, 2014 |archive-date=December 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218205000/http://www.avclub.com/article/20-best-movies-2014-213002 |url-status=live }}
• 1st – David Edelstein – New York{{cite web |author=David Edelstein |url=http://www.vulture.com/2014/12/best-movies-of-2014.html |title=The 11 Best Movies of 2014 |work=New York |date=December 9, 2014 |access-date=December 9, 2014 |archive-date=December 9, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141209201941/http://www.vulture.com/2014/12/best-movies-of-2014.html |url-status=live }}
• 1st – Bill Goodykoontz – The Arizona Republic{{cite web |author=Bill Goodykoontz |url=http://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/movies/2014/12/16/top-10-movies-2014/20453695/ |title=Top 10 Movies of 2014 |work=The Arizona Republic |access-date=December 18, 2014 |archive-date=June 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603053522/https://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/movies/2014/12/16/top-10-movies-2014/20453695/ |url-status=live }}
• 1st – Stephen Holden – The New York Times{{cite news |author=Stephen Holden |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/14/movies/stephen-holdens-best-movies-2014.html |title=Stephen Holden's Best Movies 2014 |work=The New York Times |date=December 11, 2014 |access-date=December 11, 2014 |archive-date=December 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213052132/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/14/movies/stephen-holdens-best-movies-2014.html |url-status=live }}
• 1st – Ann Hornaday – The Washington Post{{cite news |author=Ann Hornaday |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-best-movies-of-2014-boyhood-force-majeure-selma-and-more/2014/11/25/c09403ae-70ed-11e4-8808-afaa1e3a33ef_story.html |title=The Best Movies of 2014 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=November 27, 2014 |archive-date=November 27, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141127123926/http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-best-movies-of-2014-boyhood-force-majeure-selma-and-more/2014/11/25/c09403ae-70ed-11e4-8808-afaa1e3a33ef_story.html |url-status=live }}
• 1st – Peter Howell – Toronto Star{{cite web|author=Peter Howell|url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2014/12/22/top_10_boyhood_leads_peter_howells_favourite_movies_of_2014.html|title=Top 10: Boyhood Leads Peter Howell's Favourite Movies of 2014|work=Toronto Star|date=December 22, 2014 |access-date=December 26, 2014|archive-date=December 24, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141224220121/http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2014/12/22/top_10_boyhood_leads_peter_howells_favourite_movies_of_2014.html|url-status=live}}
• 1st – Eric Kohn – Indiewire{{cite web |author=Eric Kohn |url=http://www.indiewire.com/article/the-best-films-of-2014-according-to-indiewires-film-critic-20141208?page=2 |title=The Best Films of 2014 | date=December 8, 2014 |publisher=Indiewire |access-date=December 8, 2014 |archive-date=December 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226093955/http://www.indiewire.com/article/the-best-films-of-2014-according-to-indiewires-film-critic-20141208?page=2 |url-status=live }}
• 1st – Mick LaSalle – San Francisco Chronicle{{cite web |author=Mick LaSalle |url=http://www.sfchronicle.com/movies/article/Mick-LaSalle-s-Top-Ten-5978448.php#/0 |title=Mick LaSalle's Top Ten |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |date=December 25, 2014 |access-date=December 26, 2014 |archive-date=December 30, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141230211333/http://www.sfchronicle.com/movies/article/Mick-LaSalle-s-Top-Ten-5978448.php#/0 |url-status=live }}
• 1st – Bob Mondello – National Public Radio{{cite web |author=Bob Mondello |url=https://www.npr.org/2014/12/31/374053268/favorite-films-of-2014-why-stop-at-10 |title=Favorite Films of 2014: Why Stop at 10? |website=NPR.org |publisher=NPR |access-date=January 1, 2015 |archive-date=January 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150101012608/http://www.npr.org/2014/12/31/374053268/favorite-films-of-2014-why-stop-at-10 |url-status=live }}
• 1st – Joe Morgenstern – The Wall Street Journal{{cite news |author=Joe Morgenstern |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-best-films-of-2014-boyhood-and-other-rare-gems-1419480616 |title=The Best Films of 2014: Boyhood and other rare gems |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=December 26, 2014 |access-date=January 1, 2015 |archive-date=January 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150101022312/http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-best-films-of-2014-boyhood-and-other-rare-gems-1419480616 |url-status=live }}
• 1st – Andrew O'Hehir – Salon{{cite web |author=Andrew O'Hehir |url=http://www.salon.com/2014/12/29/andrew_ohehirs_top_10_movies_of_2014/ |title=Andrew O'Hehir's Top 10 Movies of 2014 |work=Salon |date=December 29, 2014 |access-date=December 31, 2014 |archive-date=December 30, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141230115533/http://www.salon.com/2014/12/29/andrew_ohehirs_top_10_movies_of_2014/ |url-status=live }}
• 1st – Michael Phillips – Chicago Tribune{{cite web |author=Michael Phillips |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/ct-best-movies-of-2014-michael-phillips-20141218-column.html |title=Best and worst movies of 2014 |work=Chicago Tribune |date=December 18, 2014 |access-date=January 1, 2015 |archive-date=December 31, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231175712/http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/ct-best-movies-of-2014-michael-phillips-20141218-column.html |url-status=live }}
• 1st – Claudia Puig – USA Today{{cite web |author=Claudia Puig |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2014/12/24/boyhood-movie-of-the-year-puig/20819271/ |title=Claudia Puig's movie of the year |work=USA Today |access-date=January 1, 2015 |archive-date=December 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225060634/http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2014/12/24/boyhood-movie-of-the-year-puig/20819271/ |url-status=live }}
• 1st – Richard Roeper – Chicago Sun-Times{{cite web |author=Richard Roeper |url=http://entertainment.suntimes.com/movies/best-2014-10-movies-moved/ |title=Best of 2014: The ten movies that moved me |work=Chicago Sun-Times |access-date=December 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219070408/http://entertainment.suntimes.com/movies/best-2014-10-movies-moved/ |archive-date=December 19, 2014 |url-status=dead }}
• 1st – Joshua Rothkopf – Time Out New York{{cite web |author=Joshua Rothkopf |url=http://www.timeout.com/newyork/film/the-20-best-movies-of-2014 |title=The 20 best movies of 2014 |publisher=Time Out New York |access-date=December 10, 2014 |archive-date=December 27, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141227041133/http://www.timeout.com/newyork/film/the-20-best-movies-of-2014 |url-status=live }}
• 1st – A. O. Scott – The New York Times{{cite news |author=A.O. Scott |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/14/movies/a-o-scotts-top-10-movies-2014-boyhood-and-more.html |title=A.O. Scott's Top 10 Movies 2014 |work=The New York Times |date=December 11, 2014 |access-date=December 11, 2014 |archive-date=December 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213052146/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/14/movies/a-o-scotts-top-10-movies-2014-boyhood-and-more.html |url-status=live }}
• 1st – Betsy Sharkey – Los Angeles Times{{cite web |author=Betsy Sharkey |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-ca-sharkey-list-20141221-column.html |title=Betsy Sharkey's best films of 2014 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=December 19, 2014 |access-date=December 20, 2014 |archive-date=December 19, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219205404/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-ca-sharkey-list-20141221-column.html |url-status=live }}
• 1st – Sight & Sound contributors – British Film Institute{{cite web |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk//best-films-2014 |title=The best films of 2014 |publisher=BFI |access-date=November 30, 2014 |archive-date=January 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101220734/http://www.bfi.org.uk/best-films-2014 |url-status=live }}
• 1st – Peter Travers – Rolling Stone{{cite magazine |author=Peter Travers |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/lists/10-best-movies-of-2014-20141204/boyhood-20141204 |title=10 Best Movies Of 2014 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=December 4, 2014 |archive-date=December 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225013146/http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/lists/10-best-movies-of-2014-20141204/boyhood-20141204 |url-status=live }}
• 2nd – Tom Brook – British Broadcasting Corporation{{cite news |author=Tom Brook |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-30514418 |title=Talking Movies' top 10 films of 2014 |work=BBC News |access-date=December 18, 2014 |archive-date=December 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218111051/http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-30514418 |url-status=live }}
• 2nd – Robbie Collin – The Daily Telegraph{{cite web |author=Robbie Collin |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culture-review-of-the-year/11287706/The-five-best-films-of-2014.html |title=The five best films of 2014 |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=December 15, 2014 |access-date=December 18, 2014 |archive-date=December 19, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219021329/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culture-review-of-the-year/11287706/The-five-best-films-of-2014.html |url-status=live }}
• 2nd – Seth Malvin – A.V. Wire{{cite web |author=Seth Malvín Romero |url=http://avwire.com/2015/01/05/a-v-wires-top-10-films-of-2014/ |title=A.V. Wire's Top 10 Films of 2014 |publisher=A.V. Wire |access-date=January 5, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215082118/http://avwire.com/2015/01/05/a-v-wires-top-10-films-of-2014/ |archive-date=February 15, 2015 |url-status=dead }}
• 2nd – Richard Corliss – Time{{cite magazine |author=Richard Corliss |url=http://time.com/3616154/top-10-best-movies-2014/ |title=Top 10 Best Movies |magazine=Time |access-date=December 5, 2014 |archive-date=July 30, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730223451/http://time.com/3616154/top-10-best-movies-2014/ |url-status=live }}
• 2nd – Chris Nashawaty – Entertainment Weekly{{cite magazine |author=Chris Nashawaty |url=http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20326356_20879243,00.html |title=10 Best Movies of 2014 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=December 5, 2014 |archive-date=December 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141208014722/http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0%2C%2C20326356_20879243%2C00.html |url-status=dead }}
• 2nd – Kyle Smith – New York Post{{cite web |author=Kyle Smith |url=https://nypost.com/2014/12/06/the-posts-critics-declare-their-top-10-movies-of-2014/ |title=The Post's critics' top 10 movies of 2014 |work=New York Post |date=December 6, 2014 |access-date=December 8, 2014 |archive-date=December 7, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207231501/http://nypost.com/2014/12/06/the-posts-critics-declare-their-top-10-movies-of-2014/ |url-status=live }}
• 2nd – Mark Kermode – BBC Radio Five Live{{cite web|author=Mark Kermode|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/markkermode/entries/0ea5ddf2-438d-39a7-864a-ef611906059d|title=My Top Ten Films of 2014 – Part 2|publisher=BBC|date=December 30, 2014|access-date=January 28, 2015|archive-date=January 14, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114215905/http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/markkermode/entries/0ea5ddf2-438d-39a7-864a-ef611906059d|url-status=live}}
• 3rd – Rex Reed – The New York Observer{{cite web |author=Rex Reed |url=http://observer.com/2014/12/rex-reed-the-best-films-of-2014/ |title=The Best Films of 2014 |work=The New York Observer |date=December 17, 2014 |access-date=December 18, 2014 |archive-date=December 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218063949/http://observer.com/2014/12/rex-reed-the-best-films-of-2014/ |url-status=live }}
• 3rd – Craig Mathieson – The Sydney Morning Herald{{cite web|url=http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/top-10-movies-of-the-year-20141219-12b2dy.html|title=Top 10 movies of the year|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=December 2014|access-date=February 29, 2016|archive-date=February 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160214052919/http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/top-10-movies-of-the-year-20141219-12b2dy.html|url-status=live}}
• 4th – James Berardinelli – Reelviews{{cite web |author=James Berardinelli |url=http://www.reelviews.net/reelthoughts.php?identifier=738 |title=The 2014 Top 10 |publisher=Reelviews |access-date=January 1, 2015 |archive-date=January 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102062756/http://www.reelviews.net/reelthoughts.php?identifier=738 |url-status=live }}
• 5th – Richard Lawson – Vanity Fair{{cite magazine |author=Richard Lawson |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/vf-hollywood/2014/12/best-movies-of-2014 |title=Best movies of 2014 |magazine=Vanity Fair |date=December 8, 2014 |access-date=December 8, 2014 |archive-date=December 27, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141227164239/http://www.vanityfair.com/vf-hollywood/2014/12/best-movies-of-2014 |url-status=live }}
• 5th – Todd McCarthy – The Hollywood Reporter{{cite web |author=Todd McCarthy |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/todd-mccarthys-10-best-films-758261 |title=Todd McCarthy's 10 Best Films of 2014 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=December 19, 2014 |access-date=December 26, 2014 |archive-date=December 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226033045/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/todd-mccarthys-10-best-films-758261 |url-status=live }}
• 6th – Christopher Orr – The Atlantic{{cite web |author=Christopher Orr |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/12/the-best-movies-of-2014/383960/ |title=The Best Movies of 2014 |work=The Atlantic |date=December 22, 2014 |access-date=January 1, 2015 |archive-date=January 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150101063521/http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/12/the-best-movies-of-2014/383960/ |url-status=live }}
• 7th – Peter Rainer – The Christian Science Monitor{{cite journal |author=Peter Rainer |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Movies/2014/1217/The-10-best-movies-of-2014-Our-critic-s-picks |title=The 10 best movies of 2014 |journal=The Christian Science Monitor |date=December 17, 2014 |access-date=December 18, 2014 |archive-date=December 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218031952/http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Movies/2014/1217/The-10-best-movies-of-2014-Our-critic-s-picks |url-status=live }}
• 9th – Lou Lumenick – New York Post{{cite web |author=Lou Lumenick |url=https://nypost.com/2014/12/06/the-posts-critics-declare-their-top-10-movies-of-2014/ |title=The Post's critics' top 10 movies of 2014 |work=New York Post |date=December 6, 2014 |access-date=December 8, 2014 |archive-date=December 7, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207231501/http://nypost.com/2014/12/06/the-posts-critics-declare-their-top-10-movies-of-2014/ |url-status=live }}
• 10th – Matt Zoller Seitz – RogerEbert.com{{cite web|title=The Individual Top Tens of 2014|url=http://www.rogerebert.com/balder-and-dash/the-individual-top-tens-of-2014|website=RogerEbert.com|publisher=Ebert Digital LLC|access-date=June 22, 2015|date=December 18, 2014|archive-date=May 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150519162645/http://www.rogerebert.com/balder-and-dash/the-individual-top-tens-of-2014|url-status=live}}
• Not ranked – Manohla Dargis – The New York Times{{cite news |author=Manohla Dargis |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/14/movies/manohla-dargiss-best-movies-of-2014-beyond-the-lights-and-more.html |title=Manohla Dargis's Best Movies of 2014 |work=The New York Times |date=December 11, 2014 |access-date=December 11, 2014 |archive-date=December 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214210137/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/14/movies/manohla-dargiss-best-movies-of-2014-beyond-the-lights-and-more.html |url-status=live }}
• Not ranked – David Denby – The New Yorker{{cite magazine |author=David Denby |url=http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/2014-year-review-ten-best-movies-denby |title=The 10 Best Movies of 2014 |magazine=The New Yorker |date=December 13, 2014 |access-date=December 18, 2014 |archive-date=December 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214093112/http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/2014-year-review-ten-best-movies-denby |url-status=live }}
• Not ranked – Steven Rea – The Philadelphia Inquirer{{cite web |author=Steven Rea |url=http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20141214_STEVEN_REA_S_10_BEST_FILMS_OF_2014.html |title=Steven Rea's 10 Best Films of 2014 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=December 14, 2014 |access-date=December 18, 2014 |archive-date=December 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141221202351/http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20141214_STEVEN_REA_S_10_BEST_FILMS_OF_2014.html |url-status=live }}
• Not ranked – Dana Stevens – Slate{{cite web |author=Dana Stevens |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/2014/12/slate_film_critic_dana_stevens_top_10_list_best_movies_of_2014.html |title=The top 10 movies of 2014 |date=December 15, 2014 |publisher=Slate |access-date=December 18, 2014 |archive-date=December 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217205016/http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/2014/12/slate_film_critic_dana_stevens_top_10_list_best_movies_of_2014.html |url-status=live }}

{{div col end}}

In a 2016 poll by BBC Culture, critics ranked Boyhood as the fifth greatest film since 2000.{{Cite web |url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20160819-the-21st-centurys-100-greatest-films |title=The 21st century's 100 greatest films |publisher=BBC |date=August 23, 2016 |access-date=October 9, 2016 |archive-date=August 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160823034303/http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20160819-the-21st-centurys-100-greatest-films |url-status=live }} The film was also named the eighth "Best Film of the 21st Century So Far" in 2017 by The New York Times.{{cite news|last1=Dargis|first1=Manohla|last2=Scott|first2=A.O.|title=The 25 Best Films of the 21st Century ... So Far|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/09/movies/the-25-best-films-of-the-21st-century.html|website=The New York Times|date=June 9, 2017 |access-date=July 8, 2017|archive-date=July 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708065541/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/09/movies/the-25-best-films-of-the-21st-century.html|url-status=live}} In 2019, The Guardian ranked the film 3rd in its 100 best films of the 21st century list.{{cite web |title=The 100 best films of the 21st century |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/sep/13/100-best-films-movies-of-the-21st-century |website=The Guardian |date=September 13, 2019 |access-date=17 September 2019}} In 2021, the film was ranked at No. 91 on Time Out magazine's list of The 100 best movies of all time.{{cite web|title=The 100 best movies of all time|url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/movies/best-movies-of-all-time|date=8 April 2021}} The February 2020 issue of New York Magazine lists Boyhood as among "The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars."{{cite news|title=The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/best-oscar-best-picture-losers.html|magazine=New York Magazine|access-date=March 30, 2025}}

In 2025, filmmaker Pablo Larraín cited the film as one of his favorite films, saying: "This movie is very important to me. It lives in my heart, I admire everyone who did this film. It really, really hit me. When I grow up, I would like to make a movie as good as this one."{{cite web | url=https://www.indiewire.com/news/general-news/pablo-larrain-richard-linklater-boyhood-1235085107/ | title=Pablo Larraín: Richard Linklater's 'Boyhood' Still 'Lives in My Heart' | date=January 14, 2025 }}

Linklater told Hypable in July 2014 that he was planning a DVD/Blu-ray release through The Criterion Collection:{{cite web |url=http://www.hypable.com/2014/07/18/boyhood-richard-linklater-interview/ |title='Boyhood' director Richard Linklater talks about the star's unwavering 12-year commitment |publisher=Hypable |date=July 18, 2014 |access-date=August 22, 2014 |archive-date=August 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826120815/http://www.hypable.com/2014/07/18/boyhood-richard-linklater-interview/ |url-status=live }}

{{blockquote|text=Yeah, we've got a ton of behind the scenes stuff. We made this in the era where everyone has a digital camera so we unearthed an interview from year one with Ellar, Lorelei, Patricia and myself, Patricia interviewed me in 2002. I hadn't seen this since we shot it, Ellar had forgotten quite a bit of it but he got to see himself as a wide-eyed six year old. For people who like the movie, I think there will be a lot of cool little treasures.}}

On August 21, Variety reported that Paramount Home Media Distribution had acquired the U.S. home entertainment rights for DVD, Blu-ray and digital distribution. IFC Films will retain VOD and EST sales as part of the deal.{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2014/film/news/boyhood-to-grow-old-with-paramount-on-home-entertainment-platforms-1201287644/ |title='Boyhood' to Grow Old with Paramount on Home Entertainment Platforms |work=Variety |date=August 21, 2014 |access-date=August 22, 2014 |archive-date=August 22, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140822235411/http://variety.com/2014/film/news/boyhood-to-grow-old-with-paramount-on-home-entertainment-platforms-1201287644/ |url-status=live }} The film became available on Digital HD on December 9, 2014, and was released on Blu-ray and DVD on January 6, 2015.{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2014/10/10/boyhood-dvd-january/17032915/|title=Exclusive: 'Boyhood' heads to DVD in January|website=USA Today |date=October 10, 2014|access-date=August 24, 2017|archive-date=September 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906063957/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2014/10/10/boyhood-dvd-january/17032915/|url-status=live}} The Criterion Collection released a special edition of the film on Blu-ray and DVD on October 18, 2016.{{cite web|url=https://www.criterion.com/films/28820-boyhood|title=Boyhood (2014) – The Criterion Collection|date=July 15, 2016|access-date=July 18, 2016|archive-date=August 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808163126/https://www.criterion.com/films/28820-boyhood|url-status=live}}

{{Main|List of accolades received by Boyhood (film)}}

Boyhood earned dozens of accolades, including top prizes from the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the Chicago Film Critics Association, the Broadcast Film Critics Association, and the London Film Critics' Circle. It received both the Golden Globe Award and the British Academy Film Award for Best Film. At the 87th Academy Awards, it received an Oscar for Supporting Actress.

• "Barthood", an episode of The Simpsons with a similar narrative
• Up documentary film series, following the lives of 14 people over 56 years
• Merrily We Roll Along, upcoming film directed by Linklater over the course of decades
• List of films with longest production time

{{reflist}}

{{sister project links|d=Q4103201|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|wikt=no|s=no|species=no|c=no|display=Boyhood}}

• {{Official website}}
• {{IMDb title|1065073}}
• [https://open.spotify.com/user/12124674548/playlist/7d6djC8PXu2bk8l0lKnHpz The Beatles Black Album from Boyhood] at Spotify

{{Richard Linklater}}

{{Navboxes

|title = Awards for Boyhood

|list =

{{Austin Film Critics Association Award for Best Film}}

{{BAFTA Best Film}}

{{BIFA BestForeignFilm}}

{{Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Film}}

{{Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cast}}

{{Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Film}}

{{Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Film}}

{{Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Film}}

{{Dublin Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film}}

{{Golden Globe Award Best Motion Picture Drama}}

{{Gotham Independent Film Audience Award}}

{{Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Picture}}

{{IFTA Award for Best International Film}}

{{London Film Critics Circle Award for Film of the Year}}

{{Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Film}}

{{Mainichi Film Award for Foreign Film Best One Award}}

{{New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film}}

{{San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film}}

{{St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Picture}}

{{TFCA Award for Best Film}}

{{Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film}}

{{Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Film}}

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{{Houston Astros}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyhood}}

Category:2014 films

Category:2014 drama films

Category:2014 independent films

Category:2010s American films

Category:2010s coming-of-age drama films

Category:2010s English-language films

Category:2010s teen drama films

Category:American coming-of-age drama films

Category:American independent films

Category:American teen drama films

Category:BAFTA winners (films)

Category:Best Drama Picture Golden Globe winners

Category:Best Film BAFTA Award winners

Category:English-language independent films

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Category:Films about children

Category:Films about divorce

Category:Films about dysfunctional families

Category:Films about father–son relationships

Category:Films about mother–son relationships

Category:Films about parenting

Category:Films about puberty

Category:Films directed by Richard Linklater

Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award–winning performance

Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe–winning performance

Category:Films set in 2002

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Category:Films whose director won the Best Direction BAFTA Award

Category:Films whose director won the Best Director Golden Globe

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Category:Universal Pictures films