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This Boy's Life

This Boy's Life

Drama · 1993

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.

Movie details

This Boy's Life

“He looked like the ideal husband. He seemed like the perfect father. That's just what they needed. But that's not what they got.”

1993 Drama 1h 55m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.1 / 10

Community rating

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.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over This Boy's Life?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Michael Caton-Jones

Written by

Robert Getchell

Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro

Dwight

Ellen Barkin

Ellen Barkin

Caroline

Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo DiCaprio

Toby

Jonah Blechman

Jonah Blechman

Arthur Gayle

Eliza Dushku

Eliza Dushku

Pearl

Chris Cooper

Chris Cooper

Roy

Carla Gugino

Carla Gugino

Norma

Court is in session

Put This Boy's Life on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.