Boyhood is an incredible work of filmmaking in every regard. It's a landmark in cinematic technique and unequivocally the best film released in 2014. The central hook is that the movie, which spans twelve years, from the height of Coldplay to the (almost) modern day, was shot over that same time period, with the actors, most notably star Ellar Coltrane, growing up before the audience's very eyes. And while that certainly makes it a technical and logistical achievement, it's really only the entry point of what Richard Linklater has achieved with his definitive coming-of-age epic. The shooting technique aids just about everything the film gets right. Period details - the songs that play, the game consoles the character's use and movies they discuss - feel genuinely in the moment, rather than trying to invoke a certain time, while self-imposed time-jumps allow for some of the most naturalistic character development since, well, Linklater's Before Trilogy. It's the narrative structure, however, that really shows just how great a movie this is; despite initially seeming opportunistic to shooting times, the story measured to the point of perfection. Linklater doesn't just show random snapshots of Mason Evans Jr.'s childhood. At the start, you're shown his major life events - moving house, his mother's break-up, getting his long hair cut - but as things progress there's a shift in focus. The later scenes are moments of feeling, rather than narrative importance. You see him happily with his high school girlfriend and later reeling from the break-up, but not the split itself. As he grows what's important changes, and the film's focus with it - it's as if the entire film is a run down of Mason's memories, perhaps flashing through his eyes in that final shot. Boyhood isn't just a movie about growing up, it's a movie about the memories we hold from growing up. And that's why it's so utterly impossible to get it out of your head. So there you have it - the twenty best movies of 2014. Which of your favourite movies were missed off? Which ones shouldn't have placed at all? Give us you own personal top ten/twenty list in the comments below.
