Boyhood Receives 6 Oscar Nominations

The 2015 nominations for the Academy Awards were announced this morning, and Boyhood, my personal favourite film of 2014, received 6 big nominations:

• Richard Linklater got 2 nominations, for Best Original Screenplay and Best Director
• Ethan Hawke is nominated as Best Supporting Actor
• Patricia Arquette seems to be a favourite for Best Supporting Actress
• Sandra Adair is up for Best Film Editing
• and the film itself is nominated for Best Picture

This is a huge accomplishment for an independent film!  Considering how few people have viewed this little gem up to now (a tiny, tiny fraction of the audience for any of last year's blockbusters), and how many additional eyeballs this may bring to it, these nominations could go a long way toward expanding its fan base.

I somehow failed to write a blog post about Boyhood right after Vicki, Tammy and I saw it in Toronto last year, but I can say that it was one of the best movie-going experiences I've ever had.  I was emotionally drained by the end of it.  There's something surreal about watching the characters, especially the two children, age a dozen years over the course of a few hours.  I think the story itself could've been slightly more compelling, but that's a very minor complaint against an otherwise amazing production.  I encourage anyone who enjoys good movies to seek Boyhood out (I have a Blu-Ray copy that can be borrowed by anyone with the appropriate player, including a PS3 or PS4).

With the competition for all of the awards as fierce as always this year, it's possible that Linklater's classic will be shut out completely in terms of golden statues.  But here's hoping that isn't the case, and that it takes home at least a couple of them.  It definitely deserves the accolades.