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This Boy's Life

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7.1/10 • 1K

1993-04-091h 55m

Drama

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.

When a son and mother move to Seattle in hopes for a better life, the mother meets a seemingly polite man. Things go south when the man turns out to be abusive, endangering their lives. As the mother struggles to maintain hope in an impossible situation, the son has plans to escape.

Directors
Michael Caton-Jones
Editors
Jim Clark

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Robert De Niro

    Robert De Niro

    Dwight Hansen

  2. Ellen Barkin

    Ellen Barkin

    Caroline Wolff Hansen

  3. Leonardo DiCaprio

    Leonardo DiCaprio

    Tobias Wolff

  4. Chris Cooper

    Chris Cooper

    Roy

  5. Eliza Dushku

    Eliza Dushku

    Pearl

  6. Jonah Blechman

    Jonah Blechman

    Arthur Gayle

  7. Kathy Kinney

    Kathy Kinney

    Marian

  8. Gerrit Graham

    Gerrit Graham

    Mr. Howard

  9. Carla Gugino

    Carla Gugino

    Norma

Reviews1

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r96sk Avatar

r96sk

Aug 19, 2025

8/10

'This Boy’s Life' manages to produce an impressive feat: making me hate Robert De Niro! His character here, that is. I've only seen the guy in likeable roles, 'Meet the Parents' is as close as a portrayal has come to being unlikeable. Dwight, in this, is despicable! All the aforementioned is simply a plus point for the film, though. It's obviously not overly difficult to make a person garner hatred, but I do appreciate that we see how Dwight becomes the way he is - e.g. the shooting scene. It does get a touch repetitive at times, only minorly so. Not only does this flick have De Niro, it also has one Leonardo DiCaprio - in his first leading movie role, no less. Both are excellent throughout, positives can too be remarked about Ellen Barkin's performance. Elsewhere, youthful Tobey Maguire and Carla Gugino also appear. An uncomfortable watch, but it is a very good release from 1993.

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  • This Boy's Life poster
  • This Boy's Life poster
  • This Boy's Life poster
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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
$4,104,962.00
Keywords
jealousybased on novel or booksingle parentseattle, washingtoncar mechanicrelationship problemsbased on true storystepfatherfamily relationshipscoming of agealcoholicoppression1950s