Boyhood is going to be studied in film courses for years to come in terms of plot and story construction, no doubt about that (Birdman probably, too). But if you look back, I think being a critical darling is a slightly better indicator of longevity for a film than even a Best Picture win. Not to say anything bad against Birdman (I haven't seen it yet, unfortunately), but Boyhood is definitely going to stand as an achievement that will overshadow its Oscar loss. It's the sort of movie (like Shoah, perhaps) where its mere existence is success enough.
It will probably stand with Citizen Kane, Vertigo, Raging Bull, etc. as an infamous snubbee, yes (As will Selma and Nightcrawler, probably), but it will be primarily remembered for reasons far more significant than that.
Flying a plane is no different from riding a bicycle; it's just a lot harder to put baseball cards in the spokes.
I honestly think this could be a ase where the film's reception comes full circle.
It goes from critical darling, to receiving somewhat of a backlash in the industry and from Red Letter Media. Now that it lost the Oscar, maybe it will be revisited and become something like Citizen Kane or Vertigo where it isn't a classic for a brief period but becomes one through dedicated fans.
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