It's a beautiful thing that you can't pin down what a "Richard Linklater film" is. This is the director-writer behind such widely varied creations as "Dazed and Confused," "Waking Life," "Bernie," "School of Rock" and the "Before Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight" series. His latest, "Boyhood," just shows once again how versatile and inventive Linklater is. He shot his actors once a year, over 12 years. The result: He has created a deep, affecting portrait of growing up in America - the tiny moments, the occasional drama. As much as it's about boyhood, it's also about parenthood and the maturing not just of the boy, but of his parents, played eloquently by Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke. (The mom strives to pull her family out of its low-income struggles, even as she makes injudicious choices in boyfriends, and the often-MIA father is like a kid himself.) Ellar Coltrane plays Mason from ages 5 to 18, and his contemplative face conveys innocence and occasional disquietude in the character's early years. The last third of the movie falters when much of the focus shifts from the family to more exclusively the high-school Mason. Coltrane isn't a good enough actor to carry that significant weight, and neither is Zoe Graham, cast as a girlfriend. But the majority of "Boyhood" is an amazing experience.

- KRISTINA DORSEY