Abstract
This article examines two twenty-first century films, Juno (2007) and Boyhood (2014), arguing that they are refreshingly different from most previous “coming of age” movies in the way that they avoid the usual clichés associated with such films. Whereas many earlier movies tend to make a single event the turning point in young characters’ lives, these two films deliberately wrong-foot the audience by steering round such predictable scenarios, and give a more credible depiction of characters in their ongoing dealing with the comings and goings of age, whether they are young or old. It is suggested that the films achieve this both in terms of their content and also in their structure, seeking to prioritize the fabula over the sjuzhet. They also have endings that are more “feminine,” avoiding the traditional, climactic male ending.