Stars: Robert De Niro, Ellen Barkin, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Blechman, Eliza Dushku, Tobey Maguire

Director: Michael Caton-Jones

Summary: America in the 1950s and a divorcee with a young son marries in desperation. But life is not destined to be sweet for her boy - who is now to be brought up by a bullying tyrant...

A film based on Tobias Wolff's much-praised autobiography about his troubled youth.
Caroline Wolff, divorced and with no job prospects, takes her son Toby on an aimless journey across 1950s America. They stop for a while in several towns, where Caroline gets involved with different men, but they always end up back on the road, running--until Caroline meets Dwight Hansen, a military man whom she believes will bring stability to their lives and help raise Toby.
But Dwight proves to be a sadistic dictator, determined to impose a rigid and cruel discipline on Toby. When the boy finally cannot take it anymore, he looks for any escape... even if it means he'll have to fight Dwight to get out. Features outstanding performances from both Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.

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Robert De Niro gets top billing, but young Leonardo DiCaprio is the revelation of This Boy's Life, an astute, often painful drama of growing up in the 1950s Pacific Northwest, based on the autobiographical novel by Tobias Wolff. DiCaprio plays Tobias, a good kid with a bad boy streak but an unwavering love for his divorced mother (Ellen Barkin). "I want to be a better boy", he promises from under a greasy pompadour, and tries to prove it when she marries single father Dwight (DeNiro), a bully who parents through intimidation and humiliation. A pre-TitanicDiCaprio is magnetic in his first starring role, full of anger, hope and confusion as he drifts back to juvenile delinquency and his intensity gives the true story of survival and triumph its charge. DeNiro is frightening and pathetic as Dwight, and Dwight's youngest daughter is played by future star and vampire slayer Eliza Dushku. --Sean Axmaker

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Trailer - 1. Original Theatrical Trailer
Year:	1993
Release Date:	July 21, 2003
Runtime:	110 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	D 014177
Keywords:	This, Life, General, Drama, Boy's
Genre:	Drama