ElMaruecan82
"You'll never forget me!" shouts an angry Dwight to Tobias and his mother when they're finally leaving the house of so many haunting memories. That's probably the only true thing he ever said, and the proof is, Tobias Wolff, the author wrote a novel about the Dwight years, adapted in 1993 by Michael Caton-Jones. And I remember having seen the film many years ago, before "Titanic", before all Leonardo Di Caprio's adult roles, I didn't forget Dwight, played by De Niro, but I didn't forget Leo either."This Boy's Life" is the chronicle of Tobias Wolff's teenage days, when his nomadic mother, played by the a sensual Ellen Barkin, decided to go west, the land of greener grasses. She looks for a job, a roof, a school for her boy, but marrying a man would provide everything she needs in once, and a fatherly figure, an extra Tobias severely needs. Finally, in a small town, conveniently named 'Concrete', she meets Dwight, a divorced father with three children, whose gallantry and gentleness don't fool Tobias. His suspicions are immediately confirmed when Dwight confronts him in the car and dares him to ever try to mock him. The character is set, and De Niro here plays one of his most underrated and memorable villainous roles as a bully so blinded by his inferiority complex he doesn't realize he's only venting his anger on Tobias. De Niro maintains a puzzling mix of genuine authority or pathetic craziness that we're never quite sure about his intentions, and even the mother, while feeling the aggressiveness, still believes he can be a model for Tobias. Naturally, as the movie progresses, Dwight's actions get more and more explicit about how cruel and abusive he is, each of his seemingly good actions are followed by a treachery. He encourages Tobias to deliver newspapers yet he steals his money, he buys him a dog, but sells his Winchester to get the money, he registers him to the scout but can't buy him a proper suit, or shoes to play baskets, he teaches him to fight yet only seems to enjoy his towering position to humiliate him. All the film is a succession of conflictual situations between Dwight and Toby, and as soon as De Niro emerges on screen, Barkin dissolves in his shadow. Less than an underusing, it illustrates the fact that she accepts her fate, and choose a neutral position: she doesn't want to be the 'umpire', a wise move that probably avoids an aggravation, since she also endures Dwight complex in bed and makes her only involvement more significant and crucial to the story, which ends in the most cheerful way. Dwight is a dark and unforgettable parenthesis in Tobias' life that marked him forever. We can feel it by the level of emotion displayed by Tobis when he finally escaped from him, yet at this moment, we can't help but feel sorry for De Niro, who as douche-bag as he was, couldn't hide his vulnerability and an obvious insecurity. Only an actor like De Niro could have inspired so many contradictory reactions … and I guess a part of the credit is to the directing, and the storytelling. "This Boy's Life" features many difficult parts, the injustice, the bullying, starting with the most random things like toothpaste, mustard, and it's so futile that you can't doubt that it's true, but it doesn't overdo the pathos, and even translates it into comedy. When De Niro and Leo take the picture in the scout camp, you can't help but smile at the discomposure in Toby's face with De Niro's trademark grin. And the 'comedy' aspect also relies on Toby's capability to resist Dwight's pressure, sometimes he accepts it, he does in the beginning, but as he gets older and grows more rebel, he responds to him, even laugh at him, almost not realizing that he's being influenced by him. On that level, the film features many other subplots, involving a friendship with Arthur Gayle, an ambiguously homosexual who seems infatuated on Toby, and later, he has the feeling that it's Dwight's voice speaking in him, and Toby realizes he might have been molded the worst way, with the only choice being becoming Dwight or like his losers friends. His only chance of escape is to apply for prep schools with the help of Arthur to get the teacher's favors. The conflict between Dwight and Toby is the core of the film, and no matter how powerful is De Niro, Leo is capable to steal the show, to take him face to face, and when a young snotty punk like him can take it from the guy who was already a legend you know there's something promising in this talent.And it's no wonder that Leo was nominated the same year for 'Gilbert Grape'. In my recent reviews, I've been very critical toward Leonardo Di Caprio especially the way he was typecast as a macho tough lead, while there was more to exploit in his angelic face. That's true, I've never bought him as a tough guy, maybe because I didn't want to, maybe because I thought there was a lot of potential wasted, he could have more interesting roles. "The Aviator" was my favorite of his 'recent' roles and I'm still waiting to see "Django Unchained", till that day, all I can do is revisit his performance and "This Boy's Life", and the unforgettable breakdown part, his shout in the mountains finally exorcising the deliverance of getting rid of Dwight, such a communicative moment, or his Eddie Cochran in the car (the scene I remembered the mostà) and put my unfair bias into perspective.
reneweddan
Entertaining from start to finish, this film is more than a depressing film, it's a film about hope, chances, and positivity.This film documents the events in the life of Tobias Wolff and his rough journey as an adolescent. (You should Wikipedia some information after the film since this was released in 1993 and many things can change since then 'till now) The acting from Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Ellen Barkin is sublime, and this film is worth watching.It centers around the life of a child as he lives life with his mother (his father left with the child's older brother who eventually released a book called "Duke of Deception: Memories of My Father"). His life is nothing short of rough, a town of nobodies, but his desire to leave is as strong as his will to do so.This Boy's Life is about finding the positivity in negative situations and taking chances before they pass you by forever. Inspiring and brilliant, Leonardo DiCaprio at a young age still acts better than many.Enjoy this film.
