Boyhood is about a boy, and, well, Regina has anything but boys.  Nevertheless, the movie is a coming-of-age story that any teenager of either gender can relate to.

The movie follows a family over the course of twelve years who lives in Texas: the father Mason, the mother Olivia, and their two children, Samantha and Mason “MJ,” Jr. Their story begins in 2002, after the parents have recently divorced. Olivia has custody of the two children, while Mason has weekend visitation rights.  The elder Mason was not present the previous year in an attempt as he was off to “find”  himself. Thus, the movie realistically captures the two parents trying to move on with their  lives with the likelihood that they will never get back together, much to their children’s dismay.

The majority of the movie, however, focuses on Mason Jr.’s development from a six-year-old boy to a young man journeying to college (sound familiar, Regina girls?).   Thus, we get to experience MJ’s triumphs and tribulations with school, friends, girls, jobs, family gatherings, birthdays, graduations and all the moments in between. Throughout this time period,  MJ’s rite of passage is affected by  his relationship with his family members, who also mature both physically and emotionally in his ever changing life.

What makes the film so worthy of Oscar buzz, however, is the dedication that went into making this film.  The director, Richard Linklater, wanted to follow MJ’s progression as accurately as possible, so the movie was filmed monthly over the course of a 12-year period, from 2002 to 2013. This is a unique, yet, monumental concept in cinematic history. The audience literally gets to see Ellar Coltrane, the actor who played MJ, grow up before their eyes!

This being said, Boyhood is a motion picture masterpiece not only because of its artistic genius, but its simplistic, yet, intimate approach to the complexity of growing up.