This Boy's Life

1993

1h 55m

IMDb RATING

7.1/10

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72 Images

Drama

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

Writers

Tobias Wolff(novel by)

Robert Getchell(screenplay by)

Stars

Robert De Niro

Ellen Barkin

Leonardo DiCaprio

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Videos1

Trailer
Watch This Boy's Life (1993) Official Trailer - Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio Movie HD

Photos72

Top cast

Robert De Niro

Dwight Hansen

Ellen Barkin

Caroline Wolff Hansen

Tobias Wolff

Roy

Pearl

Arthur Gayle

Marian

Mr. Howard

Norma

Skipper

Chuck Bolger

Kathy

Arch Cook

Psycho

Silver Sister #2

Truck Driver

Jimmy Voorhees

Directors

Michael Caton-Jones

Writers

Tobias Wolff(novel by)

Robert Getchell(screenplay by)

All cast & crew

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User reviews1

Review

Featured review

8/10

<em>'This Boy’s Life'</em> 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, <em>'Meet the Parents'</em> 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.

r96sk19 Aug, 2025