Patricia Arquette shares love, joy in 'Boyhood'

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- It took over a dozen years to film, but "Boyhood" is finally in theaters.

In the film, Patricia Arquette plays the mother of two children. Ethan Hawke is their father. Although the two have gone their separate ways, their kids are their common bond.

What's not common here is the way this movie was made. It was shot for three to five days a year over the course of 12 years.

Arquette says she loved being a part of this movie that's seen through the eyes of a child as we watch him actually grow up on screen from first grade to high school graduation.

"I always knew I did the right thing and I always knew it was so rich for my life. It fed me so much creatively. It felt like such a beautiful experience. I looked forward to it," Arquette said.

She added that the hardest thing about the movie was knowing it was over.

"Finishing was like, 'We can't finish this. I can't be done with this experience,'" Arquette said.

The actress sees "Boyhood" as a movie about love and family. She loves that the response to it has been so strong.

"I never imagined in a million years people would embrace it with the same kind of feeling that I felt making it," Arquette said.