This Boy's Life (1993)

The story about the relationship between a rebellious 1950s teenager and his abusive stepfather, based on the memoirs of writer and literature Professor Tobias Wolff.

Director:

Michael Caton-Jones

Writers:

Tobias Wolff (book), Robert Getchell (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Barkin

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert De Niro	...	Dwight
Ellen Barkin	...	Caroline
Leonardo DiCaprio	...	Toby
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

Storyline

In 1957, a son and mother flee the East and an abusive boyfriend to find a new life, and end up in Seattle, where the mother meets a polite garage mechanic. The boy continually gets into trouble by hanging out with the wrong crowd. The mom marries the mechanic, but they soon find out that he's an abusive and unreasoning alcoholic, and they struggle to maintain hope in an impossible situation as the boy grows up with plans to escape the small town by any means possible. Based on a true story by Tobias Wolff.

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Plot Keywords:

1950s | marital abuse | anal rape | bus | child driving a car | 

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Taglines:

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.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language and sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 April 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

En främling i familjen

Filming Locations:

Britannia Beach, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$74,425, 11 April 1993, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$4,104,962

Company Credits

Production Co:

Knickerbocker Films, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Leonardo DiCaprio mentioned the film during his acceptance speech at the 2016 SAG Awards. He also thanked Michael Caton-Jones for casting him in his first film during his Oscar acceptance speech in 2016.

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Goofs

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.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in The Audition (2015)

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Soundtracks

Perfidia
Music by Alberto Domínguez
Lyrics by Milton Leeds
Performed by The Ventures

User Reviews

Memorable, But Difficult To Watch

This was a very haunting, sometimes very difficult story to watch unfold on screen. It was one of the first films I recollect seeing when I went berserk collecting tons of VHS tapes in the mid-90s. I had never heard of Leonardo DiCaprio, but I'm just I wasn't alone as this was his second or third time on screen. Anyway, he certainly gave a powerful performance and served notice he was going to be a "big name" actor.

Basically, it's about teenage kid and his mom trying to survive the mean father-husband of the family in a small town during the 1950s. Robert De Niro plays the dad and Ellen Barkin, the mom. This may be the only film I've seen in which Barkin actually played the nicest person of the leads!! Leo plays "Tobias Wolffe;" De Niro, "Dwight Hansen" and Barkin, "Caroline Hansen." She had remarried Hansen after having "Toby" earlier, hence the surname "Wolffe."

What made this story tough for me was that, to be honest, neither father nor son were nice guys, although De Niro's character was far worse. The struggles - and that's putting it tactfully - between father and son were really nasty. Yet, as unpleasant at is, the story is memorable and it haunted me for several days, especially since it is "based" on a true story. How much of this was true, I can't say, but it is a dramatic story you will not dismiss. However, watching dysfunctional families and hearing a lot of verbal abuse is not fun, so be warned.