This Boy's Life (1993)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Michael Caton-Jones

Writers (WGA):

Tobias Wolff (book)
Robert Getchell (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 April 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

He looked like the ideal husband. He seemed like the perfect father. That's just what they needed. But that's not what they got.

Plot:

The story about the relationship between a rebellious 50s teenager and his abusive father, based on the memoirs of writer and literature professor Tobias Wolff.

Plot Keywords:

Mechanic | Small Town | Washington State | Pearl | Anal Rape

Cast

Robert De Niro	...	Dwight Hansen
Ellen Barkin	...	Caroline Wolff Hansen
Leonardo DiCaprio	...	Tobias 'Toby' Wolff
Jonah Blechman	...	Arthur Gayle
Eliza Dushku	...	Pearl
Chris Cooper	...	Roy
Carla Gugino	...	Norma
Zachary Ansley	...	Skipper (as Zack Ansley)
Tracey Ellis	...	Kathy
Kathy Kinney	...	Marian
Robert Zameroski	...	Arch Cook (as Bobby Zameroski)
Tobey Maguire	...	Chuck Bolger
Tristan Tait	...	Jerry Huff
Travis MacDonald	...	Psycho
Richard Liss	...	A&P Manager

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language and sexuality.

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:14A | Iceland:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Ireland:18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-12 | Germany:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Concrete, Washington, USA

Company:

Knickerbocker Films

Trivia:

Tobey Maguire first auditioned for the part of Toby but director Michael Caton-Jones thought he wasn't right for the role. Leonardo DiCaprio, who is close friends with Tobey Maguire, still wanted him to be apart of the film so he got him the role of Toby's friend Chuck Bolger.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the finger cutting scene, the finger shown in close up with special effects is not the finger shown when the camera pans back to original shot.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Tobias 'Toby' Wolff: It was 1957. We were driving from Florida to Utah. After my mother was beaten up by her boyfriend, we got in the Nash and high-tailed it for the uranium fields. We were gonna get rich and change our luck, which hadn't been so hot since our family broke up five years back.

Movie Connections:

References The Searchers (1956)

Soundtrack:

Perfidia

Leo's movie

The title got it right. This is Leonardo's movie through and through. You can't wait for him to get away from his ineffectual Mother and his Stepfather. Not many young actors could hold their own with DeNiro, but Leonardo succeeds beautifully. See this movie if you still have any doubts about his acting ability; for once, the 12-year-old girls got it right by anointing him the actor of this generation.