Luke
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CibbuanoThis Boy's Life
October 3rd 2006 07:52
This Boy's Life (1993)
Coming-of-age films are often hard to pull off without falling into a rut of cliches. And whilst this certainly aint no 'Stand By Me', it manages to pull itself above the sludge of countless wannabes - owing mainly to it's source material, the award-winning book of the same name.
'This Boy's Life' tells the true story of (renowned author) Tobias Wolff's troubled childhood. It isn't a particularly original 'story', but its reality negates any need to be dynamic or envelope-pushing. Leonardo DiCaprio (in one of his first roles) plays the eponymous boy (Toby) who must contend with an abusive and tyrannical stepfather (De Niro, in more lively form than usual).
Some people argue that this particular film is flawed because of its unresolved subplots, but such criticism can't really be applied to 'This Boy's Life'. It's a true story, it isn't a piece of fiction that can be neatly tied up and re-written at will. The primary concern of the 'story' is to tie up the main and most important narrative strand - Toby's troubled relationship with his stepfather, his survival throughout, and the eventual outcome.
Anyway, counter-criticisms aside, this is a good film. The main thing that I found myself interested in were the outstanding performances of De Niro and DiCaprio. The more undeveloped characters (Toby's friends, his step-siblings) are simply details, don't expect much from these subplots and you'll enjoy the movie.
HIGHLIGHTS: Lookout for Tobey Maguire, Chris Cooper (American Beauty, Adaptation) and Eliza Dushku (Buffy TV series, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back) in supporting roles.
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