I think one line in this film best describes the whole underline meaning of the story...."In the end I left everyone but no one really left me..." Its a autobiographical coming of age story about a author/screen writer who is remembering his past and of growing up in the slums in New York in the 1980s. Its about how his friends and family affected his life and his ultimate decision to cut them all out of it. Its a dramatic and deeply moving story with great acting...and in my opinion the best work I've seen Shia LaBeouf do. So Check this out... but if your sensitive to language and violence then its not for you, but I will say its all used realistically. So if you can get past that and realize its just how it was back then, the story itself will take over...and your left with the satisfaction of watching something real.