The Oscar Case For and Against Richard Linklater’s “Boyhood”

Believe it or not, we’re only about 72 hours away now away from the Academy Award ceremony folks. Like I said earlier this week, by now we all know that it’s basically a final sprint to the finish between Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman and Richard Linklater’s Boyhood. As such, this week I decided to look at the Oscar cases for and against both films, finishing up today with Boyhood. The movie also has taken a rather unique road to the finish line, so it’s an interesting case that can be made for Linklater’s work, no matter what the outcome on Sunday night is. Come with me once more now as we wrap up this final series and look at what’s working for and against a big Oscar night for Boyhood this weekend. I don’t think any of you are in the dark about the trek that Boyhood has been on to date, but to quickly re-iterate the highlights, it debut to universal acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival, instantly establishing itself as an awards contender. Some folks doubted if it could pull off nominations in Best Picture and Best Director, but Best Original Screenplay seemed like a lock for a way to honor Linklater, while supporting players Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke became heavy contenders (even lead Ellar Coltrane and supporting player Lorelei Linklater found themselves with buzz). It opened early in the year to more praise and solid business, keeping itself in the mix all the way until the fall and winter, where it started racking up precursor awards. Boyhood became the go to critics choice in Picture and Director, while Arquette became the all but unbeatable frontrunner in Supporting Actress. For a while it looked like Linklater could win three Academy Awards (Picture, Director, and Original Screenplay), especially after picking up those first two at the Golden Globes. Then, the guilds chimed in and he lost all three, the first two (PGA and DGA) going to Iñárritu and Birdman, while The Grand Budapest Hotel’s Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness beat him at the WGA ceremony. Now, Boyhood finds itself possibly behind in the big categories, with only days to spare and voting having closed. Working in favor of the film is the early love that I’m sure voters haven’t forgotten about. There’s also a surefire win for Boyhood with Arquette in Supporting Actress, so it’s not like Academy members are [...]