Matthew Lambert/ Winonan

This article is the first in a series I will be doing this year, where each month I will choose a new film director to review, with a different film from their career to review weekly.

First up for directors is the unknown, diamond-in-the-rough Richard Linklater, who has just been nominated for an Oscar for directing the movie “Boyhood.”

Being a child of divorce is a difficult life. My parents separated when I was very young, so just like the main characters in this movie, Mason (Ellar Coltrane) and Samantha (Lorelei Linklater), my brother and I too spent weekends with my dad, moved around, and had step siblings. Thankfully my brother and I didn’t have to deal with some of the issues Mason and Samantha went through, but still it’s very easy to relate. Enough about me though, the best part of this story is not only that it’s so relatable, but also it’s a movie that is almost like a memory.

Throughout the film we are following Mason and the things he goes through with Mom (Patricia Arquette), Dad (Ethan Hawke), and the various people coming in and out of his life.  We also get a soundtrack that will tell you what year it is based on the muscial choices from different time periods, with songs like Coldplay’s “Yellow,” Soulja Boy’s “Crank That,” and Goyte’s “Somebody That I Used To Know.” Linklater doesn’t mess with the order of things. He plays it chronologically and has a cast of characters that pour emotion and heart into their performances like no other. Arquette is the typical mother audience members are pulling for throughout the entire movie, who is just trying to raise her kids the right way. Hawke is your typical dad who tries his best to do the right thing, but keeps getting in his own way.

To put it simply, “Boyhood” is beautiful. It isn’t glitzy or glamorous. It doesn’t have superheroes or any heroes at all. You won’t find a slew of incredibly famous actors. And you won’t get some crazy, wacky story line. There isn’t a scene or cheesy line that makes the movie great; every scene is unique by itself. It’s simply a terrifically realistic story. Honestly, it’s what Hollywood has been missing. So don’t miss this 12-year epic by Linklater who will likely be hosting the Academy Award in February.