This Boy's Life (1993)

This Boys Life is a great movie with a very well developed storyline and a terrific cast.This is one of Leonardo DiCaprio's first movies and his very first major role in a film,he proves from the first scene that he can act,and has only proved more and more since this movie that he is easily one of the most talented actors out there,but he can't beat the very professional acting of Robert De Niro,who plays this abusive character with so much meaning,and it really seemed like he had a field day with his performance.The characters are very real,I know many people whose personalities suit the three main characters perfectly,it is an extremely realistic film which adds immensely to the drama.This Boys Life is at times depressing and at all times dramatic,I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good drama. A teenager and his mom move to Utah,where she has fallen for a man who turns out to be a tyrant.Best Performance: Robert De Niro

"You'll never forget me!" shouts an angry Dwight to Tobias and his mother when they're finally leaving the house of so many haunting memories. That's probably the only true thing he ever said, and the proof is, Tobias Wolff, the author wrote a novel about the Dwight years, adapted in 1993 by Michael Caton-Jones. And I remember having seen the film many years ago, before "Titanic", before all Leonardo Di Caprio's adult roles, I didn't forget Dwight, played by De Niro, but I didn't forget Leo either."This Boy's Life" is the chronicle of Tobias Wolff's teenage days, when his nomadic mother, played by the a sensual Ellen Barkin, decided to go west, the land of greener grasses. She looks for a job, a roof, a school for her boy, but marrying a man would provide everything she needs in once, and a fatherly figure, an extra Tobias severely needs. Finally, in a small town, conveniently named 'Concrete', she meets Dwight, a divorced father with three children, whose gallantry and gentleness don't fool Tobias. His suspicions are immediately confirmed when Dwight confronts him in the car and dares him to ever try to mock him. The character is set, and De Niro here plays one of his most underrated and memorable villainous roles as a bully so blinded by his inferiority complex he doesn't realize he's only venting his anger on Tobias. De Niro maintains a puzzling mix of genuine authority or pathetic craziness that we're never quite sure about his intentions, and even the mother, while feeling the aggressiveness, still believes he can be a model for Tobias. Naturally, as the movie progresses, Dwight's actions get more and more explicit about how cruel and abusive he is, each of his seemingly good actions are followed by a treachery. He encourages Tobias to deliver newspapers yet he steals his money, he buys him a dog, but sells his Winchester to get the money, he registers him to the scout but can't buy him a proper suit, or shoes to play baskets, he teaches him to fight yet only seems to enjoy his towering position to humiliate him. All the film is a succession of conflictual situations between Dwight and Toby, and as soon as De Niro emerges on screen, Barkin dissolves in his shadow. Less than an underusing, it illustrates the fact that she accepts her fate, and choose a neutral position: she doesn't want to be the 'umpire', a wise move that probably avoids an aggravation, since she also endures Dwight complex in bed and makes her only involvement more significant and crucial to the story, which ends in the most cheerful way. Dwight is a dark and unforgettable parenthesis in Tobias' life that marked him forever. We can feel it by the level of emotion displayed by Tobis when he finally escaped from him, yet at this moment, we can't help but feel sorry for De Niro, who as douche-bag as he was, couldn't hide his vulnerability and an obvious insecurity. Only an actor like De Niro could have inspired so many contradictory reactions … and I guess a part of the credit is to the directing, and the storytelling. "This Boy's Life" features many difficult parts, the injustice, the bullying, starting with the most random things like toothpaste, mustard, and it's so futile that you can't doubt that it's true, but it doesn't overdo the pathos, and even translates it into comedy. When De Niro and Leo take the picture in the scout camp, you can't help but smile at the discomposure in Toby's face with De Niro's trademark grin. And the 'comedy' aspect also relies on Toby's capability to resist Dwight's pressure, sometimes he accepts it, he does in the beginning, but as he gets older and grows more rebel, he responds to him, even laugh at him, almost not realizing that he's being influenced by him. On that level, the film features many other subplots, involving a friendship with Arthur Gayle, an ambiguously homosexual who seems infatuated on Toby, and later, he has the feeling that it's Dwight's voice speaking in him, and Toby realizes he might have been molded the worst way, with the only choice being becoming Dwight or like his losers friends. His only chance of escape is to apply for prep schools with the help of Arthur to get the teacher's favors. The conflict between Dwight and Toby is the core of the film, and no matter how powerful is De Niro, Leo is capable to steal the show, to take him face to face, and when a young snotty punk like him can take it from the guy who was already a legend you know there's something promising in this talent.And it's no wonder that Leo was nominated the same year for 'Gilbert Grape'. In my recent reviews, I've been very critical toward Leonardo Di Caprio especially the way he was typecast as a macho tough lead, while there was more to exploit in his angelic face. That's true, I've never bought him as a tough guy, maybe because I didn't want to, maybe because I thought there was a lot of potential wasted, he could have more interesting roles. "The Aviator" was my favorite of his 'recent' roles and I'm still waiting to see "Django Unchained", till that day, all I can do is revisit his performance and "This Boy's Life", and the unforgettable breakdown part, his shout in the mountains finally exorcising the deliverance of getting rid of Dwight, such a communicative moment, or his Eddie Cochran in the car (the scene I remembered the mostà) and put my unfair bias into perspective.

A single mother and her difficult son find family life isn't necessarily all it's cracked up to be in this film.This Boy's Life is a film adaptation of the memoir of the same name by Tobias Wolff. It is directed by Michael Caton-Jones and it features Leonardo DiCaprio as Tobias Wolff together with Robert De Niro and Ellen Barkin. The film also co-stars Chris Cooper,Carla Gugino,Eliza Dushku and Tobey Maguire in a small role.Nomadic, flaky Caroline just wants to settle down in one place, find a decent guy, and provide a better home for her handful of a son, Toby. When she moves to Seattle and meets the respectful, respectable Dwight Hansen, she thinks she's got it made. Toby, however, feels differently after spending a few months with Dwight and his children and away from Caroline. The boy's stepfather-to-be seems to want to mold Toby into a better person, but to do so he emotionally, verbally, and physically abuses the kid. The marriage proceeds, and soon Caroline, too, recognizes Dwight's need to dominate everyone around him. She sticks with it, though, convinced it's the best thing for her son, and several years of dysfunction ensue. During this time, Tobias befriends another misfit, the possibly homosexual young Arthur Gayle, while continuing to chafe under the yoke of his repressive stepfather.Hoping to leave Concrete and live with his older brother Gregory, Toby decides to apply for east-coast prep-school scholarships. Realizing his grades are not adequate to apply, Toby devises a plan to submit falsified grade reports. Meanwhile, the friendship between Arthur and Toby becomes strained when Arthur confronts Toby regarding his behavior; Arthur tells Toby he is acting more and more like Dwight and asks Toby, "why should you be the one who gets to leave?" Even so, Arthur helps his friend get the papers Toby needs to falsify his grade records and Toby sends in his prep-school applications. When Toby tells Arthur he can leave Concrete and have a better life too, Arthur tells him he will most likely stay. After numerous rejections, Toby is accepted to the Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania with a full scholarship.At the end of the film following two years of marriage, Caroline defends Toby during a physically violent argument between her son and husband and they are both seen leaving Dwight and Concrete. This movie provided the first lead role for future superstar Leonardo DiCaprio. He steals the show in this tale of learning how to be a man, with a sly Robert De Niro also giving a good performance.It was a a compelling character study that is well worth watching despite of being too long and a plot that drags.It shows how a resilient teenager survives childhood trauma and adversity through independence, anger and creativity.In short,it is a powerful and compelling stuff that makes it a must-see.

I only saw the second half of this movie, but I was glued to the screen the entire time. I was absolutely enthralled by the storyline and the excellent acting by Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. The movie, from what I gathered, is about Tobias Wolff's life in a town called Concrete, living with his abusive stepfather and his mother. The chemistry between De Niro and DiCaprio is stunning, with the set and the clothes matching the time period extremely well. To those who have the chance to see this movie, I highly recommend it. I desperately want to see the first half, in order to satisfy my curiosity. My only regret is that the mother, Caroline, didn't have much character development to her. If she had some further explanation to describe why she didn't just leave Dwight Hanson (the stepfather), then this movie would be perfect.