Review of This Boy's Life (1993) by Brett H — 03 Jan 2014

Based on Tobias Wolff's autobiography about his difficult childhood, a single mother takes her son on an aimless trip through American finally thinking she found stability with a military man for a husband, who however proves to be a rude dictator who aims to discipline her son in a violently rigid way.

The film is tainted by distance and coldness and that seems to be mainly due to the pace of the film that is too fast. The thing that keeps the film together is the intensity of the cast, with Barkin, De Niro and a young and impressive Di Caprio delivering some truly hard hitting performances.