Boyhood (2014) - Quotes

Every Family Has Its Own Story

Taglines: One family's life. Everyone's story.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

A Journey Through Twelve Years of Life

Taglines: 12 years in the making.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Confronting Emotions on a Difficult Day

Mom: This is the worst day of my life.

Mason: What are you talking about?

Mom: I knew this day was coming. I just... I didn't know you were going to be so fuckin happy to be leaving.

Dad: That doesn't make sense.

Mason: I mean, it's not that I'm that happy... what do you expect?

Mom: [beat] You know what I'm realizing? My life is just going to go, like that. This series of milestones. Getting married, having kids, getting divorced. The time that we thought you were dyslexic. When I taught you how to ride a bike. Getting divorced... again, getting my master's degree, finally getting the job I wanted. Sending Samantha off to college. Sending you off to college. You know what's next? Huh? It's my fuckin funeral! Just go! And leave my picture!

Mason: Aren't you jumping ahead by, like, 40 years or something?

Mom: I just... thought there would be more.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

The Search for Meaning in Life

Mason: So what's the point?

Dad: Of what?

Mason: I don't know, any of this. Everything.

Dad: Everything? What's the point? I mean, I sure as shit don't know. Neither does anybody else, okay? We're all just winging it, you know? The good news is you're feeling stuff. Y'know, and you've got to hold on to that. You do. I mean, you get older and you don't feel as much. Your skin gets tougher. The point is those pictures you took, thousands of submissions from all over the state, and you won.

Mason: Well, I got silver. And nine other people did, too.

Dad: I'm gonna kill you. I'm tryin to tell you that I believe in you, Mason. I think you're really special, and if some girl doesn't see that, then fuck her, y'know?

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Late Arrival and Accountability

Mason: Hey, Jim. I'm sorry I'm so late.

Jim: What time were you supposed to be home?

Mason: I dunno, awhile ago.

Jim: Awhile ago like, thirty minutes ago, an hour ago? Cause... truthfully, nobody even knew where you were until your sister told us. She's been home for awhile.

Mason: ...I'm sorry.

Jim: Yeah, been hearin a lot of that lately. See, but you don't actually care. You just kinda... kinda come and go as you please and... you don't care if your mom's upset, or what time you gotta be home... Is that what's up?

Mason: [beat] I don't know what to tell you.

Jim: Stop mumbling! You know, speak up! I can't understand a word comin outta your mouth. It's just like, "uh uhh nuhh" and I ask you questions and you just—

Mason: Man, can I just have one day where everyone isn't all over my ass?!

Jim: I'm up your ass? This is my house. Now, if you wanna live in my house... then you get home when you say you're gonna be home.

Mason: You know, Jim, you're not my dad.

Jim: [Mason enters and closes the door] No, I'm not your dad. You know how I know that? Cause I'm actually here. I'm the guy with the job, payin the bills, takin care of you, your mom, your sister, huh? Huh?! I'm that guy!

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Sibling Playfulness and Political Mischief

Dad: Go get that McCain sign, would you?

Mason: What?

Dad: [Mason runs across the street to grab the sign to him; closes trunk before driving off] Get the McCain sign. Go rip it up, come on. Get it, get it, get it, go, go, go! Good job, good job. Proud of you, son.

Samantha: You guys are gonna get us arrested.

Dad: Hey look, I'm a patriot. Alright? And sometimes in this life, you gotta fight.

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Confrontation Between Mason and Bullies

Bully 1: Don't bump into me! Little bitch!

Mason: I didn't!

Bully 1: You callin me a liar?

Mason: ..No.

Bully 1: [not believing Mason] Don't act like you're tough shit, motherfucker.

Bully 2: [about to mess Mason's hair but gets slapped] I don't think Pretty Boy's hair's good enough. Hey! Don't touch me, faggot!

Bully 1: You're a fuckin asshole.

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Classroom Conversation on Image Diary Completion

Mr. Turlington: [enters the darkroom] How long have you been in here, Mason?

Mason: Not sure.

Mr. Turlington: I'm sure: All class. Did you complete your image diary?

Mason: Not yet.

Mr. Turlington: Completed your, uh... digital contact sheet?

Mason: Not quite, but, I mean, it's not gonna take me long.

Mr. Turlington: Not yet." "Not quite." Darkroom time is extracurricular. I mean, technically, you don't ever have to be in here these days. And certainly not until you've completed your assignments. That's the deal.

Mason: [sarcastically] Sorry.

Mr. Turlington: I'm worried about you, Mason.

Mason: [laughs] Why is that?

Mr. Turlington: I'll tell you why. The images you're turning in — they're cool. You're looking at things in a really unique way. Got a lot of natural talent.

Mason: Thanks.

Mr. Turlington: Yeah, but that and 50 cents will just get you a cup of coffee in this old world. I've met a lot of talented people over the years. How many of them made it professionally without discipline, commitment and a really good work ethic?

Mr. Turlington: [makes A-ok hand gesture] I can tell ya. I can count it on two fingers: Zero. It's not gonna happen for you, Mason. The world is too competitive. There are too many talented people who are willing to work hard; and a buttload of morons who are untalented, who are more than willing to surpass you. As a matter of fact, a lot of them are sitting in that classroom out there right now. Hm? You know what they're doing? They're doing their assignments. Which is what you're supposed to be doing, but you're not. You're in here. Now, why is that? You're special, Mason?

Mason: No, but, I mean, the things you're talking about, like, work ethic or whatever, I feel like I do work pretty hard. I spend the whole weekend taking pictures a lot of times.

Mr. Turlington: [beat] You like football, Mason?

Mason: Not really.

Mr. Turlington: Yeah, I know you don't. That's why I've just assigned you to shoot the football game tonight. Okay? Starts at 7.30, I want you to get there early. I want you to shoot a full card, 300 images. I want em downloaded, I want em sorted, and I wanna see em very first thing Monday, okay? Wanna know why I'm doing this?

Mason: I guess.

Mr. Turlington: Who do you wanna be, Mason? What do you wanna do?

Mason: I wanna take pictures. Make art.

Mr. Turlington: Any dipshit can take pictures, Mason. Art, that's special. What can you bring to it that nobody else can?

Mason: [beat] That's what I'm trying to find out.

Mr. Turlington: [walks out of the darkroom] Try harder. Hey, maybe in 20 years you can call old Mr. Turlington, and you can say: "Thank you, sir, for that terrific darkroom chat we had that day." Get back to class and do your work.

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The Impact of Fear on Personal Aspirations

Mason: I just feel like there are so many things that I could be doing and probably want to be doing that I'm just not.

Sheena: Why aren't you?

Mason: I mean, I guess it's... just being afraid of what people would think. You know, judgement.

Sheena: Yeah. I guess it's really easy to say, like "I don't care what anyone else thinks." But everyone does, you know?

Mason: Exactly.

Sheena: Deep down.

Mason: I find myself so furious at all these people that I am in contact with just for... controlling me or whatever, but you know, they are not even aware they are doing it.

Sheena: [beat] Yeah. So, in this perfect world, where no one's controlling you—what's different? What changes?

Mason: Everything. I mean, I just wanna be able to do anything I want, because it makes me feel alive. As opposed to giving me the appearance of normality.

Sheena: Whatever that means.

Mason: I don't think it means much.

Sheena: You're kinda weird, you know that?

Mason: Yeah? Is that a compliment?

Sheena: I don't know. Do you wanna be weird?

Mason: [pause] I mean, I don't wanna like scare kids at the park, or anything like that. I really like talking with you. I don't usually even try to like vocalize my thoughts, or feelings or anything. Just— I don't know, it never sounds right. Words are stupid.

Sheena: So why are you trying with me?

Mason: I don't know. I guess I feel comfortable.

Sheena: I'm glad.

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Homework Issues and Parental Concerns

Mom: [Driving Mason Jr. home from school] I had a good meeting with Miss Butler this time, I kinda like her.

Mason: What'd she say?

Mom: Well, she said that you weren't turning in your homework assignments. And I told her, "I know he does them cause I check em every night." She said she found a big chunk of em crumpled up at the bottom of your backpack.

Mason: She didn't ask for em.

Mom: Well, baby, she doesn't have to. You're just supposed to turn em in. And she said you're still staring out the window all day.

Mason: Not all day.

Mom: And said that you destroyed her pencil sharpener.

Mason: Not on purpose!

Mom: Wait—she said that you crammed a bunch of rocks in it.

Mason: I thought if we could sharpen pencils, maybe we could sharpen rocks.

Mom: [beat] Well, what were you gonna do with a bunch of sharpened rocks?

Mason: I was trying to make arrowheads for my rock collection.

Mom: ...Hmm.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Concerns About Safety and Responsibility

Samantha: [after leaving Bill's family for good] Why couldn't Randy and Mindy come with us?

Mom: I'm not their legal guardian, honey. That would be kidnapping. I can't just...

Samantha: What's gonna happen to them? What happens when their legal guardian is dangerous and abusive?

Mom: I don't know, honey. I called their mom. I called the Child Protective Services. Y'know... I have you and your brother. We're in a dangerous situation. You're my responsibility.

Samantha: Are we ever gonna see them again?

Mom: I don't know... I hope so.

Samantha: How much longer are we gonna be here?

Mom: [starts crying] Not long. We're... I don't... I don't have all the answer, baby...

Samantha: [[Cars 2|That doesn't even make scene.] ] It'll be okay.

Mom: I'm fine.

Family Tensions Amidst a Crisis

Mason: Mom, are you okay?

Randy: What happened?

Olivia: [Bill appears] No... go in the house! Go! Go in the house!! Go in the house!

Bill: [Mason and Randy leave; to Olivia] Your mother had a little accident. Now she's being dramatic. Get off the fuckin floor, Olivia. For Christ's sake!

Musical Moments Between Siblings in Boyhood

Mason: [sings "[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles] Lets see, ninja turtles 87. ]" while playing the acoustic guitar]

Samantha: What are favorite song.

Exploring Magic in Everyday Life

Mason: Dad? ...There's no, like, real magic in the world, right?

Dad: What do you mean?

Mason: You know, like elves and stuff. People just made that up.

Dad: Oh, I don't know. I mean, what makes you think that elves are any more magical than something like... like a whale? You know what I mean? What if I told you a story about how underneath the ocean, there was this giant sea mammal that used sonar and sang songs and it was so big that its heart was the size of a car and you could crawl through the arteries? I mean, you'd think that was pretty magical, right?

Mason: Yeah. But, like... right this second, there's, like, no elves in the world, right?

Dad: [beat] No. Technically, no elves.

Navigating Love and Separation in Family Dynamics

Mason: Mom, do you still love Dad?

Mom: I still love your father... but that doesn't mean it was healthy for us to stay together.

Mason: What if after we move he's trying to find us, and he can't?

Mom: Oh, that won't be a problem. He can call Grandma and she'll tell him, or he can call Information. We won't won't be hard to find.

Mason: Is he still in Alaska?

Mom: [chuckles] Well, that's what your uncle says.

Mason: Probably taming polar bears or something.

Mom: Yeah, well, I hope they're taming him.

A Farewell to Home and Attitude

Samantha: [as the family leaves their house for the last time before moving] Goodbye, yard! Goodbye, crepe myrtle! Goodbye, mailbox! Goodbye, box of stuff Mommy won't let us take with us but we don't want to throw away. Goodbye, house, I'll never like Mommy as much for making us move!

Mom: [dismayed and frusterated with her daughter's boastful attitude] Samantha! Why don't you say goodbye to that little horseshit attitude, okay? Cause we're not taking that in the car.

Life's Challenges and Growing Up

Dad: [Mason Jr. bowls a gutterball] Alright, don't worry about it.

Mason: Wish we could use the bumpers.

Dad: Bumpers are for kids! Y'know, what're you, two years old? You don't want the bumpers. Life doesn't give you bumpers.

Moments of Connection and Disconnection in Life

Bill Welbrock: [pause] You don't like me much, do you Mason? That's okay, neither do I.

Nicole: You know how everyone's always saying seize the moment? I don't know, I'm kind of thinking it's the other way around, you know, like the moment seizes us.

The Dangers of Modern Human Transformation

Mason Evans Jr.: I finally figured it out. It's like—when they realized it was gonna be too expensive to actually build cyborgs and robots. I mean, the costs of that were impossible. They decided to just let humans turn themselves into robots. That's what's going on right now. I mean, why not? There're billions of us just laying around, not really doing anything. We don't cost anything. We're even pretty good at self-maintenance and reproducing constantly. And as it turns out, we're already... biologically programmed for our little cyborg upgrades. I read this thing the other day about how... Like, when you hear that ding on your inbox, you get like a dopamine rush in your brain. It's like we're being chemically rewarded for allowing ourselves to be brainwashed. How evil is that? We're fucked.