This Boy's Life (film)

This Boy's Life
215px Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Michael Caton-Jones
Produced by	Fitch Cady Art Linson
Screenplay by	Robert Getchell
Based on	This Boy's Life by Tobias Wolff
Starring	Leonardo DiCaprio Robert De Niro Ellen Barkin
Music by	Carter Burwell
Cinematography	David Watkin
Edited by	Jim Clark
Production company	Knickerbocker Films
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release dates	April 9, 1993 (1993-04-09) (Limited) April 23, 1993 (1993-04-23)
Running time	114 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$4,104,962

This Boy's Life is a 1993 film adaptation of the memoir of the same name by American author Tobias Wolff. It is directed by Michael Caton-Jones and stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Tobias Wolff, Robert De Niro as stepfather Dwight Hansen, and Ellen Barkin as Toby's mother, Caroline. The film also features Chris Cooper, Carla Gugino, Eliza Dushku and Tobey Maguire in his feature film debut.

Plot

Nomadic, flaky Caroline Wolff (Ellen Barkin) wants to settle down in one place, find a decent man, and provide a better home for her and her son, Tobias "Toby" Wolff (Leonardo DiCaprio). When she moves to Seattle, Washington, and meets the seemingly respectable Dwight Hansen (Robert De Niro) (in real life Dwight Thompson worked as a mechanic for Seattle City Light at the time), she thinks she has accomplished her goals. Toby, however, comes to feel differently; Dwight's true personality is revealed after Toby spends a few months separated from his mother with Dwight and his children. The boy's stepfather-to-be seems to want to mold Toby into a better person, but his method includes emotionally, verbally and physically abusing the boy.

The marriage proceeds, and soon Caroline recognizes Dwight's need to dominate everyone around him. She sticks with it, though, convinced this is best for her son, and several years of dysfunction ensue. During this time, Toby befriends a classmate, the misfit and ambiguously homosexual Arthur Gayle (Jonah Blechman). Toby continues 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 good enough to be accepted, Toby devises a plan to submit falsified grade reports. Meanwhile, the friendship between Arthur and Toby becomes strained when Arthur confronts Toby, saying he is behaving more and more like Dwight, and asks, "Why should you be the one who gets to leave?". Arthur helps his friend get the papers he needs to falsify his grade records and Toby submits his prep-school applications. When Toby assures Arthur he too can leave Concrete and have a better life, Arthur replies he will most likely stay. After numerous rejections, Toby is finally accepted by the Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, with a full scholarship.

At the end of the film, following two years of marriage, Caroline defends Toby from Dwight during a physically violent argument and they are both seen leaving Dwight and the town of Concrete. The real Dwight died in 1992. Caroline remarried and moved to Florida. Arthur left Concrete after all, and became a successful businessman in Italy. Dwight's children all married and stayed in Seattle.

Cast

• Leonardo DiCaprio as Tobias "Toby" Wolff
• Robert De Niro as Dwight Hansen
• Ellen Barkin as Caroline Wolff Hansen
• Jonah Blechman as Arthur Gayle
• Eliza Dushku as Pearl Hansen
• Chris Cooper as Roy
• Carla Gugino as Norma Hansen
• Zack Ansley as Skipper Hansen
• Tracey Ellis as Kathy
• Kathy Kinney as Marian
• Tobey Maguire as Chuck Bolger
• Sean Murray as Jimmy Voorhees
• Lee Wilkof as Principal Skippy
• Bill Dow as Vice Principal
• Deanna Milligan and Morgan Brayton as Silver Sisters

Production

Largely filmed in the state of Washington, the town of Concrete, Washington (where Tobias Wolff's teen years were spent with his mother and stepfather, Dwight), was transformed to its 1950s appearance for a realistic feel. Many of the town's citizens were used as extras, and all external scenes in Concrete (and some internal scenes, as well) were shot in and around the town, including the former elementary school buildings and the still-active Concrete High School building.

Release

Box office

The film was released in limited release on April 9, 1993, and earned $74,425 that weekend; upon its wide release on April 23, the film opened at #10 at the box office and grossed $1,519,678. The film would end with a domestic gross of $4,104,962.

Critical reception

The film received mostly positive reviews; review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 75% 'Fresh' rating from 36 critics, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The site's consensus states: "A harrowing, moving drama about a young boy, his single mother, and his abusive stepfather, This Boy's Life benefits from its terrific cast, and features a breakout performance from a young Leonardo DiCaprio." On Metacritic, where they give a 'normalized' score, the film has a 60/100.

Home media

This Boy's Life was released on DVD May 13, 2003.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of This Boy's Life used many songs from the 1950s and early 1960s. The main titles (filmed in Professor Valley, Utah) feature Frank Sinatra's version of "Let's Get Away from It All" from his 1958 album Come Fly with Me and Toby and his mother sing I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair" from the popular post-war musical South Pacific. However, most of the music reflects Toby's fondness for rock and roll and doo wop, including songs by Eddie Cochran, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, and Link Wray. Carter Burwell composed the film's pensive score, which featured New York guitarist Frederic Hand.

External links

• This Boy's Life at IMDb
• This Boy's Life at Box Office Mojo
• This Boy's Life at Rotten Tomatoes
• This Boy's Life at Metacritic
• This Boy's Life film trailer at YouTube