There are gobs of reasons to love this movie, but one is especially relevant to the screenwriting caste: It is proof positive there is no right way to write. Take any formula from any screenwriting 'guru' and try to make sense out of the structure for Boyhood. Hell, even my obsession with Three Act Structure gets a big ol' kick in the teeth when we try to apply it to Boyhood. As I suggested yesterday in comments, I think the best, if not only way to analyze the underlying narrative structure of the story is to break it down to its sequences. It's tempting to think, well, if there are 12 years covered in the story, there are 12 sequences. Upon closer inspection, I don't think that's true as there are sequences WITHIN the years. Here's a crack at the major plot points: 12: The family moves to Houston. 20: Dad returns. 33: Olivia and Bill Welbrock have gotten married. Mason and Samantha have moved into the Welbrock home. 41: Bill's alcoholism revealed. 45-56: There's not much of a plot point per se to round off this sequence, but it's a Day With Dad. The pivot in the story is the contrast between the conversation between Dad and Mason (55-56) contrasted with the dictatorial move by Bill forcing Mason to get a haircut (57). So if we were to be sticklers, perhaps the combination of those two scenes functions as a twist to the plot for now we know that Mason truly loathes Bill, especially in comparison to his father. 60-68: Again this is a continuous sequence of action spotlighting the rapid descent into Bill's alcoholic rage culminating with the plot point (68): Olivia extracts Mason and Samantha from Bill's house. NOTE: Did any of worry about Bill's children? I did. What a hellish life they must have led from here on out. 72-86: Another Day With Dad sequence. If memory serves, it ends with a jump cut in time to the scene where Mason is harassed by bullies in school bathroom (86-87). Interesting as it echoes in a way the same dynamic as the Day With Dad sequence capped off by Bill's violent behavior. 104-106: Olivia is now with Jim and Dad is now with Annie. 110-124: Another Day With Dad, this time Mason and Samantha experiencing Dad's 'new' life, steeped with religion. Once again the ending of the sequence is a 'soft' one and so it's possible to look at the scene between Mason and his teacher (124-126) as the capstone and plot point here, stepping up Mason's interest in photography and receiving some words of wisdom from a Mentor figure. A nice turn from the previous two Day With Dad sequences wherein Mason has to deal with Bill, then school bullies, those negative, this experience, albeit tough love, positive. 130-134: Mason and Sheena going to the next level / Jim and Mason verbal altercation / jump cut revealing Olivia has divorced Jim. 140-154: The Sheena sequence which ends with them hashing over the details of their break-up. 165-170: Capping off the graduation sequence, Mason with his father as Jimmy prepares for a gig. 173-175: As Mason prepares to leave, Olivia freaks out. 180-181: Mason and Nicole talk about moments. NOTE: In my dreams, Mason and Nicole go on to have a happy life together. But perhaps that's just the romantic in me! From this exercise, you can see how challenging it is to identify in Boyhood what we would typically designate a 'plot point'. I think that is a reflection of Linklater's 'moment' approach to storytelling. Yes, there are a handful of bigger moments, but most of them are, as I suggested previously, rather 'mundane,' and I don't mean that in a negative way, but rather more about the scope and scale of the scenes. Linklater and crew explore the subtle nuances of everyday life. So who's got the gumption to try to identify the story's sequences? I've already given you a head-start! Let's look to dig into that tomorrow because this is one movie where the sequence theory really comes into play.

Really loved this film. What stood out for me was that even though Mason's emotional journey is obviously the main storyline, it was framed within Olivia's romantic life — those milestones (marriage/divorce) are what lend the story a more familiar three-act structure. I know, screenwriters are always caveated against making the protagonist have things happen to them, instead of being the driving force behind those events. But here, since the main "character" is Mason's (and his family's) physical transformation (itself very compelling), the emotional story doesn't have to be as dramatic.