Synopsis
When a son and mother move to Seattle in hopes for a better life, the mother meets a seemingly polite man. Things go south when the man turns out to be abusive, endangering their lives. As the mother struggles to maintain hope in an impossible situation, the son has plans to escape.
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Cast
- Robert De NiroDwight Hansen
- Ellen BarkinCaroline Wolff Hansen
- Leonardo DiCaprioTobias Wolff
- Chris CooperRoy
- Eliza DushkuPearl
- Jonah BlechmanArthur Gayle
- Kathy KinneyMarian
- Gerrit GrahamMr. Howard
- Carla GuginoNorma
- Zachary AnsleySkipper
Recommendations
- 88
Chicago Sun-Times
The movie is successful largely because [DiCaprio] is a good enough actor to hold his own in his scenes with De Niro, so that the movie remains his story, and isn't upstaged by the loathsome but colorful Dwight. - 80
Los Angeles Times
He [Caton-Jones] has made the film all of a piece, making sure that the three lead performances complement rather than overwhelm each other. [9 Apr 1993, p.F1] - 75
ReelViews
The film is well-paced and expertly edited, allowing scenes to flow naturally into one another. - 60
The New York Times
The film recreates Toby and Caroline's aimlessness, but without appearing to understand it enough to make it as moving and important as it ought to be. - 60
Chicago Reader
The leads work overtime to make their characters and their relationships pungent, believable, and moving (though with regard to the rest of the cast, the movie seems less focused and confident). - 60
Empire
Despite its admirable strengths and the fact of it being a true story, there is somehow a failure to completely connect with the fierce boy, giving his unhappy and alienating youth an unfortunate air of unreality. - 50
Austin Chronicle
Director Caton-Jones ("Scandal", "Memphis Belle") once again shows his flair for period detail though he never here exerts his grip on the human drama. - 50
Rolling Stone
De Niro's decision to make Dwight a loony from the get-go throws the delicate symmetry of the story out of whack.
