# This Boy's Life (1993)

> A teenage boy and his mother struggle to escape an alcoholic stepfather's cruelty while he searches for a future beyond their small-town life.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/movie/3962

## Facts

- Runtime: 115 min
- Genres: Drama
- Director: Michael Caton-Jones
- Cast: Robert De Niro, Ellen Barkin, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Blechman, Eliza Dushku, Chris Cooper, Carla Gugino, Zachary Ansley
- TMDB rating: 7.1/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108330/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Mood: harrowing, melancholic, intimate, serious movie night, biographical drama viewing

## Synopsis

A young boy's struggle for freedom in a world filled with abuse and despair.

## Movies like This Boy's Life

- [Inventing the Abbotts (1997)](https://ember.film/movie/7339)
- [House of D (2004)](https://ember.film/movie/14386)
- [The War (1994)](https://ember.film/movie/11983)
- [Running with Scissors (2006)](https://ember.film/movie/3847)
- [The Tender Bar (2021)](https://ember.film/movie/514793)
- [Being Flynn (2012)](https://ember.film/movie/55319)
- [The Basketball Diaries (1995)](https://ember.film/movie/5551)
- [Revolutionary Road (2008)](https://ember.film/movie/2404)
- [What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)](https://ember.film/movie/1042)
- [The Cure (1995)](https://ember.film/movie/3657)

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