1993 · drama
This Boy's Life
Directed by Michael Caton-Jones1h 55m1993
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.
Our read: This Boy's Life (1993) reads as a neutral, steady, grounded drama entry — measured in intensity, mid-stakes in scope, measured in temperature, ambivalent in outlook.
Neutral, steady, measured drama, grounded in texture. Ambivalent, mid-stakes, measured.
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How This Boy's Life feels to watch.
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What watching it is actually like.
“You want raw nineties coming-of-age drama with young DiCaprio facing domestic terror.”
Skip it tonight — You cannot stomach abusive stepfathers, bullying, and household violence tonight.
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