Best Picture Nominees — Boyhood


The Academy Awards are a week from today, so it makes sense to kick off Academy Awards week with the last of my Best Picture Nominee previews, for the front-runner.

Movie: Boyhood
Nominations: 6
Nominated For: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Ethan Hawke), Best Supporting Actress (Patricia Arquette), Best Director (Richard Linklater), Best Original Screenplay (Richard Linklater), Best Editing
About: "Boyhood" represents a singular vision from Richard Linklater, who devoted 12 years of his life to making this movie. From that standpoint, "Boyhood" represents something unique, and that is worthy to be praised. The actors literally grow up on screen, and that's fascinating. In "Boyhood" he tells a story of a young man growing up, warts and all, as well as how the family dynamics change. That seems to be what people have been fascinated with here, and one of the reasons it's been the toast of awards season. In fact, "Boyhood" is the front-runner to win Best Picture one week from today. Elsewhere, I think Arquette is a lock to win the Best Supporting Actress trophy, as she has in most of the other award presentations this season. The other awards are more of a long-shot. Linklater could win for Best Director, though that might go to Alejandro González Iñárritu for "Birdman." The same goes for the Screenplay award. A lot could depend on how the Best Picture voting goes, which means the Best Editing Award could be an early indicator. Regardless of what it wins, "Boyhood" will win something next Sunday. The film is rightly praised for being unique and for the dedication of Linklater. However, I wasn't that impressed with this film's story. It was boring and uneven. It's a fascinating concept, but to me concept alone doesn't justify winning Best Picture.
Rating: R for language including sexual references, and for teen drug and alcohol use.
Verdict: Two stars out of four.
"Boyhood" is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray

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