Richard Linklater had a vision: to tell the story of growing up. “Boyhood” differs from other coming-of-age films in that it doesn’t dwell on a single life-changing event or especially poignant age. Instead, the film follows Mason Evans, Jr. (Ellar Coltrane) and his family through a gradual progression of 12 years. The result is raw in a way that may be mistaken for a documentary, were if not for Hollywood icons like Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke.

Realizing this vision required an unprecedented approach, so Linklater chose to film the 12 year saga in real time. We get to see the actors age alongside their fictional counterparts in a seamless progression of time. It was a big gamble and a big commitment, but one that pays off artistically. The story arose from a workshop scripting process, incorporating input from Linklater and his stars, drawing from their life experiences as children and as parents.

Linklater forsakes bold time markers for more subtle, natural queues. The soundtrack progresses with the pop charts; from Coldplay’s “Yellow” to Arcade Fire’s “Deep Blue.” A teenage Mason talks to his father on an iPhone video chat (a technological impossibility in the beginning of the film). The most poignant marker is easy to miss – when Mason comes home from his high school graduation, the walls are adorn with childhood photos of him and his sister and it’s then that we realize how much has happened for these characters and how much time has passed.

The movie is not beyond criticism. The dialog is sometimes quick and forced, the plot arch is fuzzy at best, and there’s an awful lot crammed into the ambitious 160-minute runtime. It’s short on big moments, traumas, and life-changing revelations. But to focus on these things would be to miss the point.

“I was trying to capture how it feels to go through childhood and what you might remember,” said Linklater in an interview with David Polland. “It’s sometimes small little things… why you would remember that and not something else, feels kind of random.”

In the film, these random moments include playing tag in the park with dad, trying to impress the older kids with falsified stories of sex and alcohol, receiving a monogrammed bible from grandma, singing songs on the porch with family and the that moment you realize your parents are just as confused as you are. And that’s the point, the little moments which, when taken together, make our lives ours.

Now playing and Sundance Cinemas in Madison and around the country, “Boyhood” stars Ellar Coltrane, Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette, and Lorelei Linklater. This unique and intimate glimpse into the modern American family is an afternoon well spent.