This Boy's Life
1993 · 115 min · Director: Michael Caton-Jones
Show plot summary (may contain spoilers)
In 1957, a son and mother flee the East and an abusive boyfriend to find a new life, and end up in Seattle, where the mother meets a polite garage mechanic. The boy continually gets into trouble by hanging out with the wrong crowd. The mom marries the mechanic, but they soon find out that he's an abusive and unreasoning alcoholic, and they struggle to maintain hope in an impossible situation as the boy grows up with plans to escape the small town by any means possible. Based on a true story by Tobias Wolff.
Emotional fingerprint
This Boy's Life (1993) — Movie. Top emotional signals: Empathy 30%, Anxiety 25%, Sadness 20%. Source: AI estimate. Shares describe emotional signal, not percentages of people. Your experience may differ. How we measure
AI estimate · no viewer votes yet
How we measure
AI estimate
Share of emotional signal, not the percentage of people or a probability of enjoyment.
Each viewer contributes one response, split equally across their selected emotions. When available, an automated estimate supplies a prior that is blended with those responses. Counts include distinct viewers, not automated estimates or archived anonymous votes. Fewer than 3 viewers is an early estimate; more responses do not guarantee certainty.
Why it feels this way
The strongest emotional signals are Empathy, Anxiety, Sadness. Genres: Drama, Biography. AI estimate.
Is it worth watching?
Consider this title if you are looking for Empathy, Anxiety and Sadness. Its IMDb rating of 7.2/10 suggests a generally positive audience reception. For these leading emotions, its Feel Score is 72/100.
How did it make you feel?
Votes are saved to the fingerprint once you’re signed in.
Pick up to three · 0/3
Emotional journey
- Sympathy
- Tension
- Hope
Not enough subtitle evidence
No dominant emotion
Dominant emotion: Hope
Dominant emotion: Sympathy
Dominant emotion: Tension
Dominant emotion: Relief
Dominant emotion
| % | Approximate minute | Dominant emotion | Overall intensity | Sympathy | Tension | Hope |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5 % | ≈ 3′ | Hope | 45 % | 37 % | 16 % | 36 % |
| 7.5 % | ≈ 9′ | Sympathy | 47 % | 43 % | 22 % | 29 % |
| 12.5 % | ≈ 14′ | Sympathy | 41 % | 37 % | 23 % | 23 % |
| 17.5 % | ≈ 20′ | Hope | 33 % | 24 % | 23 % | 19 % |
| 22.5 % | ≈ 26′ | Tension | 34 % | 20 % | 28 % | 16 % |
| 27.5 % | ≈ 32′ | Tension | 39 % | 24 % | 30 % | 12 % |
| 32.5 % | ≈ 37′ | Sympathy | 46 % | 37 % | 38 % | 9 % |
| 37.5 % | ≈ 43′ | Sympathy | 52 % | 47 % | 47 % | 8 % |
| 42.5 % | ≈ 49′ | Sympathy | 54 % | 45 % | 49 % | 6 % |
| 47.5 % | ≈ 55′ | Tension | 58 % | 46 % | 54 % | 3 % |
| 52.5 % | ≈ 60′ | Sympathy | 59 % | 49 % | 51 % | 8 % |
| 57.5 % | ≈ 66′ | Sympathy | 55 % | 48 % | 44 % | 12 % |
| 62.5 % | ≈ 72′ | Tension | 61 % | 48 % | 55 % | 7 % |
| 67.5 % | ≈ 78′ | Tension | 64 % | 45 % | 61 % | 5 % |
| 72.5 % | ≈ 83′ | Tension | 57 % | 41 % | 51 % | 18 % |
| 77.5 % | ≈ 89′ | Sympathy | 51 % | 43 % | 41 % | 28 % |
| 82.5 % | ≈ 95′ | Sympathy | 45 % | 39 % | 36 % | 31 % |
| 87.5 % | ≈ 101′ | Hope | 54 % | 40 % | 48 % | 40 % |
| 92.5 % | ≈ 106′ | Relief | 71 % | 51 % | 65 % | 53 % |
| 97.5 % | ≈ 112′ | Not enough subtitle evidence | Not enough subtitle evidence | Not enough subtitle evidence | Not enough subtitle evidence | Not enough subtitle evidence |
Man in a hole
Rags to riches: The emotional tone rises from negative to positive.
Riches to rags: The emotional tone falls from positive to negative.
Man in a hole: The tone falls, then recovers.
Icarus: The tone rises, then falls.
Cinderella: The tone rises, falls, then rises again.
Oedipus: The tone falls, rises, then falls again.
AI reading of the film’s English subtitles (dialogue and sound cues) — not viewer votes. How we measure ↗
Kadri — your film companion
AIAsk anything about This Boy's Life. From the film’s own dialogue and FeelDB data, at your spoiler level.
Afterward Reveal viewer responses · may contain spoilers
Viewer responses about feelings after the title ended, separate from feelings while watching. No AI estimates.
0 responses so far
Feeling details appear after at least 3 viewers respond, to protect privacy.
Cast
Arthur Gayle
Skipper
Arch Cook
Jerry Huff
A&P Manager
Terry Silver
Details
- Directed by
- Michael Caton-Jones
- Written by
- Robert Getchell, Tobias Wolff
- Type
- Movies
- Released
- 1993
- Runtime
- 115 min
- Country
- United States
- Ratings
- Feels mostly
- Empathy
- Data updated
Where to watch
Free
Rent
Feels similar
More like this →Emotion overlap shows mood similarity, not a prediction of enjoyment.
