10 Movies Everyone Remembers For The Stupidest Reasons
3. Boyhood - It Was Shot Over Twelve Years
The easiest way to sell Boyhood as "the movie they shot over twelve years"; it's the USP, and sets it apart even in the pantheon of Richard Linklater coming-of-age dissections. You see the actors - mainly Ellar Coltrane as the boy who's hooded, but also Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette and Lorelei Linklater - age right in front of you, filmed during the summers from 2002 to 2013, a period movie from the period.
It's a top-notch hook, but would be worthless if there's wasn't a greater purpose. And there is; in keeping with the rest of Linklater's films, this is an observation of life, with the characters and story presented in a naturalistic fashion. The result is his most sweeping film (unless you count Before as a single experience).
Most of that's forgotten, however, with the simple filmmaking undertaking, and the references aren't always positive; there's a lot of derision directed at this choice for being pretentious. Fair play, it's an essential part of the film, but craft isn't where its brilliance ends; there's countless movies that have a gimmick and drop without a trace. Don't treat one that really uses its idea for something great like the rest of the pack.