Boyhood

I last watched this in theatres and it really affected me. 9 years later and it feels even more powerful. There's a palpability that feels intimately reflective. The literal aging is just the backdrop. It is gimmicky, but the movie doesn't treat it as such within the film. Linklater makes a skilled choice on how to balance the characters. In the beginning, it feels less Mason's story and more Mason's family's story. There's also a lack of emphasis on aging other than physical appearance, the movie doesn't focus on the critical moments of change for other characters. Like each actual divorce. We never see that. This is a bigger picture movement through time. This way of directing the characters' stories ends up creating a great launching pad when Mason shifts into the place where he is trying to be his own person. It makes me sad when I read criticisms of the movie because of how Mason ended up. To me, that's dismissive of the human experience.