This Boy's Life

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 Woolf. 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. DiCaprio 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.

The real life story of a free-spirited mother, Caroline Wolff (Barkin), and her wild teenage son Toby (Leo) in the late 1950's. Hoping to set a foundation for her lad, Caroline finally stops their travels and sets up shop in Seattle. Things get out of hand when Ma Wolff decides to settle down with a seemingly good-hearted and simple man (DeNiro) so sonny-boy can have a father figure around and get some much needed discipline. Leonardo gives an incredibly touching and believable performance worthy of not only an Oscar nomination, but of the actual statue on his mantle piece. DeNiro plays the son of a bitch to a tee again and puts a little pepper on it this time around. He was very convincing and even a tad funny in the way he portrayed this guy as a real simple phony and a top-notch jackass. This Boy's Life deftly portrays a boy's struggle to find himself without banging us over the head with its underlying message. Leonardo DiCaprio is just brilliant in this film, even though he was just a young teen during making this movie, he gave fantastic performance. By the way, he jerks off several times in this film and kissed by a gay boy (a classmate) who has crush om him. Highly recommended!