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This Boy's Life
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.
1993 · Directed by Michael Caton-Jones · 115 min · Drama · Screenplay in the scene database · 9 frames
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
In 1957, young Tobias Wolff and his nomadic, free-spirited mother Caroline arrive in Salt Lake City in search of a fresh start. After being followed by an unwelcome ex-boyfriend, Caroline impulsively moves Toby to Seattle instead.
Six months later, Toby has become a juvenile delinquent, prefers to be called Jack, and is unimpressed with Caroline's pompous new suitor Dwight Hansen. For Thanksgiving, Dwight brings Caroline and Jack to his home in Concrete, a small town near the northern Cascade Mountains. Introducing them to his three children, Dwight is secretly furious when Caroline outperforms him at the town turkey shoot.
After the rebellious Jack is suspended from school, Caroline sends him to live with Dwight for the next few months, revealing she is considering marrying him. Dwight's domineering nature soon becomes apparent as he berates Jack on the frightening drive to Concrete. Controlling and insecure, he forces Jack to join the Boy Scouts and withholds his paper route money.
Plot summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
Crew
- Screenplay: Robert Getchell
- Cinematography: David Watkin
- Edited by: Jim Clark
- Music: Carter Burwell
- Production design: Stephen J. Lineweaver
- Produced by: Art Linson
Cast
- Robert De Niro as Dwight
- Ellen Barkin as Caroline
- Leonardo DiCaprio as Toby
- Jonah Blechman as Arthur Gayle
- Eliza Dushku as Pearl
- Chris Cooper as Roy
- Carla Gugino as Norma
- Zachary Ansley as Skipper
- Tracey Ellis as Kathy
- Kathy Kinney as Marian
Production
- Country: United States of America
- Language: English
- Studios: Knickerbocker Films, Warner Bros. Pictures
- Box office: $4,104,962
- Themes: jealousy, based on novel or book, single parent, seattle, washington, car mechanic, relationship problems, based on true story, stepfather, family relationships, alcoholic
More by Michael Caton-Jones
On this film
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