6th HOF-This Boy's Life

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Has anyone read the book? I wonder if Pearl really was left alone with her father? It might've been alright when the two eldest children were there but they'd gone off to university.


Interesting excerpt from the book which fleshes out Dwight a bit more

http://community.seattletimes.nwsour...0&slug=1531068

I had the book at one time and I meant to read it, but it was a used copy and someone had written all over the pages, so I threw the damn thing out.

When I was in college, I used to look for the used copies of the books that had writing all over them. Those were the best copies because that writing is usually notes about the book that help understand the deeper meanings in the story.

I don't know why the hell I haven't seen this before, given that DiCaprio falls at #2 on my list of favorite actors - though he didn't acquire that position until recently. I disagree with those who say he was a better actor in his teens. I think he's always been a fine actor, but he's really come into his own in the last decade or so.

But he turned in a great performance here. The intensity in the scenes with De Niro was palpable and it was really interesting to feel my sympathies shift from one character to another. In the beginning, I found myself siding with Dwight. Jack was delinquent. He needed structure and discipline, which is what Dwight claimed to offer. It was fascinating and also a little frightening to watch that switch go off and see his facade slip away as he went from potential father figure to tyrant.

Excellent nomination and probably my favorite of the films I've seen so far.

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My prediction was right. You and gbgoodies were my top picks on liking This Boy's Life, well gb didn't like it that much but you did. I already knew you liked DiCaprio and A Perfect World seems similar to my pick.

I didn't dislike This Boy's Life. It's a pretty good movie. I just think I would have liked it more if DiCaprio and his mother were more likable characters. It just seemed like DiCaprio's character kind of deserved some of what he got, and his mother didn't seem to care that De Niro's character went too far.

For a while, it was almost like De Niro was right for treating DiCaprio the way he did.

I don't feel that Toby's mother didn't care, it was just that she wasn't present that much in that sequence. I think it was left to the viewer to infer from the scene in the bedroom where Dwight asserted his true character to know how that relationship would be. Previously she was a free spirit but when it looked like Toby was going off the rails she obviously thought her getting married to a man like Dwight would help Toby. She married for him, I think she just got cowed within the marriage, not that she didn't care.
I thought the character of Toby was very well played by DiCapio, and well written too - there was little scenes where you knew despite his teenage swagger he really wanted a dad. If Dwight had been less of a dick then he would've had a stepson to be proud of .

This was quite good. It grew on me as it went on. Di Caprio's character isn't all that sympathetic to start with, there's no real reason to identify with him at first, but later on he becomes more interesting and sympathetic, mostly through his complicated relationships with Dwight and his friend Arthur. One of the best scenes was when Dwight was teaching Jack to fight. I completely agree with Christine's comment that if Dwight had been less of a dick he would've had a stepson to be proud of.

I wasn't completely sold on De Niro's performance. He did a lot of silly-voiced mimicking which I suppose would be undermining for Jack living with him but wasn't all that menacing. He's always a scared bully that just wants to keep everybody down, just as Caroline tells him at the end.

Dwight's other children are a bit of an absence in the film, especially the older two, and I would have liked to know more about Jack and Caroline's relationships with them. Perhaps they faded into the background a bit because that was their way of dealing with living with Dwight. It also irked me a lot that they just ran out and left Pearl behind. It made me think Caroline was a bit of an irresponsible mother. She might not have been aware of the worst of Dwight's bullying but she did turn a blind eye to quite a lot of what she did see.

I thought all the teenagers looked really young, and it struck me that probably teenagers are usually played in movies by people in their twenties! I liked the score, but the 50s pop songs seemed a bit obvious choices. I think sometimes it was a bit too glossy, and sometimes things were a bit glossed over in general.

I almost feel that it's a shame the film ended when it did. The writing at the end said that he was expelled from his prep school and went into the army and it seemed like this would all have been interesting as well, although obviously there wouldn't have been any more room for Robert de Niro past the point at which it ends.

Stuff like that found in used books never really helps me or is detailed enough. The copy I threw away of This Boy's Life was written in by some kid. Often these used books just have a bunch of people's phone numbers written in them -- although, once, I had this used book, and some woman wrote her life story all over the pages. Stuff about how she thought her husband was cheating on her, what she would do if she left him, and a bunch of lists of what she'd buy at the grocery store. It served as a book to read, a private diary and a to-do list notebook.

It doesn't surprise me that you think that. Better to smack some sense into poor Leonardo DiCaprio before he becomes the manager of a McDonald's.

The EVIL stepfather! EVIL! EVIL!

Main problem I had with the film is that DiCaprio looks way younger than his character by the end. DiCaprio looks about 13 and his character is supposed to be I think like 16 or something.

Edit: Searched on wikipedia and apparently DiCaprio was around 18 when this was filmed, well, he looked more like a 11 years old little girl than an 18 year old.

This Boy's Life

Well, this is the type of movie that usually appeals to me. I thought it was decent, but I wouldn't necessarily call it great and I'm not sure that I would necessarily watch it again anytime soon. I feel like it's supposed to be a performance piece of sorts, but I've seen much better from both DiCaprio and DeNiro. The story was just ok for me. I realize it's a true story and these were the things that actually happened but I felt like I knew what was going to happen the whole time. With films like this when you know what the end result should be you have to be awed by the performances, with DiCaprio, I prefer almost all his other performances. DeNiro was good as the idiotic and abusive step dad but again it wouldn't come near the list of his best. Good, but not great for me.

This may be tomorrow's movie but I'm not sure yet.

I pushed to watch this tonight but my wife shot it down. I think I'm going to really like this so I'll see it soon enough.

Just finished this one, and it's one I was looking forward to. I don't think I can quite say I am disappointed, but I was hoping to love it even more.

It's a pretty straightforward story, and one that I think is almost impossible not to get anything out of. I thought the direction was competent, if unspectacular, but I feel that this movie's success lies entirely in it's cast. I used to be a huge fan of Ellen Barkin back in the 80's and early 90's. She is gorgeous, likable, and a capable actress. I think she did a good job here with a frustrating character. Plenty of women are drawn to abusive relationships, but her character is not of a weak woman, and it's frustrating to see her put up with any kind of mistreatment. I thought Dicaprio did a very good job. I liked his character, and pretty much rooted for him the entire movie. He acts like a punk occasionally, but I think that's normal for a kid his age. I thought De Niro's character could've maybe been done a little better. In theory, this is a role that is taylor made for his skills. With his distracting Canadian accent and dorky ways, I found him to be more annoying than menacing, and I would've preferred it be the other way around. I was hoping he'd be playing a tough bully, rather than just a bully. I can't necessarily blame the film for this if they're trying to stay true to the real story. It's just my viewing preference. De Niro does a fine job, but I think he has so much more to offer in a role like this.

Overall, it's a good story and a pretty good job by the cast. I was hoping for something a little harsher, but again, it would've been a different movie altogether.

Just finished this one!

It's definitely a good movie, but I wouldn't consider it a masterpiece! As for the acting, DeNiro has better roles but DiCaprio impressed me for being such a good actor so young! Also Blechman was a quite promising actor!
I didn't quite relate with the story, or at least not as much as I was expecting! The second half is much better than the first one - which I found boring at times - and I really liked the ending!
Overall it's a solid film, and it deserves a positive rating:

This Boy's Life

I find family dramas to be uninteresting and bland unless it's very well crafted. You need to relate to the characters for you to be moved. I simply didn't, an angered teenage version of myself would've adored this film.

The acting doesn't help. Now wait before you stone me, the acting is great. DeNiro once again proves he can play any role he wants to better than most actors and DeCaprio shows immense amounts of talent and why he's still successful today. Double De in a film, and you can't go wrong. But I didn't get anything out of it. Good, but retracted. Diverse, but not daring.

The guys who always excelled in scored tests in my school were boring to interact with.

Well, weren't they all Asian because you're that way / you live somewhere over there in Asia?

Go figure! They all excelled at those scored tests. That's gotta be boring.