This Boy's Life

This Boy's Life (1993)

  • 74% of critics liked it
    (35 reviews)

  • 77% of users liked it
    (21,292 ratings)

A single mother and her difficult son find family life isn't necessarily all it's cracked up to be in this drama adapted from writer and professor Tobias Wolff's 1989 memoir of the same name. Nomadic, flaky Caroline (Ellen Barkin) just wants to settle down in one place, find a decent guy, and… More

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R, 2 hr.
Directed By
Michael Caton-Jones
Genres
Drama
In Theaters
Jan 1, 1993 Wide
On DVD
May 13, 2003
Warner Home Video

Critic Reviews

  • Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine

    Something more subtle is going on in Wolff's book, a confrontation with a richer, quirkier past and his emerging self that the movie too often brushes aside.

  • Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

    The leads work overtime to make their characters and their relationships pungent, believable, and moving.

  • Todd McCarthy, Variety

    Nicely acted but excessively bland.

  • Vincent Canby, New York Times

    This Boy's Life is so steeped in period detail (music, cars, television shows, hair styles) that Toby and Caroline's sad, bumbling search for freedom seems secondary, almost impolite to the decor.

  • Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

    An indisputably great actor is inching toward the black hole of self-parody.

Read all 16 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Mark W


    Before the heights of stardom, a young Leonardo DiCaprio built his name with this coming-of-age tale based on the real life memoirs of writer Tobias Wolff. On this evidence it's easy to see why his talents couldn't be ignored. Caroline (Ellen Barkin) drifts from State to… More

  • Sajin P


    Two acting powerhouses from two generations, a young DiCaprio and De-Niro, locks horns in this gripping movie about a dysfunctional family. No one watching this movie then would've known that this was the signs of things to come. Years later, DiCaprio have grown in to a similar… More

  • Thomas J


    Tragic childhoods do not always make great or even good movies! I see movies like this and think the movie could just as well be based on my childhood!

  • Conner R


    An amazing film that captures a story of step-father and son like no other. Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio gave such powerful performances and had some of the best on screen chemistry. It is a very realistic film that has very plausible outcomes.

  • Anthony L


    De Niro and DiCaprio are particularly good in this entertaining drama. To be fair though, De Niro had it easy and it was DiCaprio who really deserves credit.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

Cast

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