This is a movie released in 1993. De Niro plays a violent and jealous stepfather.
The story is about the boy Toby's mother, Caroline, who went to Salt Lake City and then Seattle to make a living after their divorce. According to his mother's optimistic thoughts, she hoped to find a uranium mine and make a fortune. Later, she realized that her "courage trumps basic common sense" and that there is no uranium mine at all. In order to survive, her mother had to marry Du Huai, an auto mechanic she had just met. So they came to Du Huai's hometown, a small town called Concrete. In the car, Du Huai kept bragging about the benefits of this small town: "The air in my place is like fine wine. To be honest, I absolutely don't want to move this place. The schools there are good, the people are honest, this is the world You can go to the best place for fishing, you can hunt, and you can play everywhere.” It took a while for them to understand that this town, just like its name (concrete), was a stubborn and lifeless place like cement. People don't want to be aggressive enough to satisfy the status quo. In the film, the chat between Toby and his classmates at school means swearing, better than whose car is better. Toby's best friend at school was Arthur, and their shared wish was to leave Conkli. But when Toby begged for his help, Arthur said jealously: "Why can't you get out of this hell, why do I have to stay here?" In the Thanksgiving shooting competition, Caroline's participation also attracted people Very surprised, how can a woman sign up for the competition? Toby's stepfather Du Huai is a typical representative of this rural style. He thought that when Toby and his son came to the house, he was the master of course. Show your authority everywhere. He couldn't get used to Toby reading books, singing and listening to music all day long, forcing him to work and deliver newspapers, thinking that he was "taking you back on the right path". Du Huai, brooding over Caroline's excellent marksmanship, sold Toby's beloved rifle for an ugly dog. Out of jealousy, Toby threw away Toby's college registration form. In the end, it even hit Toby. This made Toby's mother and son finally unable to bear it, and left Du Huai and Kang Keli together.
After watching this movie, I can't help but think of a domestic movie "Balzac and the Little Tailor" that I watched a long time ago. Educated youths Liu Ye and Chen Kun went to the countryside to jump in line and met Zhou Xun, a local tailor. From them, Zhou Xun heard a lot of things that he had never heard of before, and also knew that there was a wonderful world outside the small village. I finally said goodbye to the small village, went outside to see and explore, and started a different life. The two stories are slightly different. Zhou Xun was born and raised aboriginal, Toby mother and son are outsiders forced to live in the small town. However, they all share a desire to get out of the lifeless present and yearn for a hopeful future. In short, they want to change.
There are always two different natures in people's hearts, one is to satisfy the status quo, and the other is to desire change. In the same person, either both, or one is stronger than the other. Du Huai is the kind of person who is unwilling to change. He is satisfied by making more money in the existing environment. In addition to material life, he adheres to the ancient ethical concepts. husband's rights, property rights, etc. He uses various means to maintain his status as the master, and tries his best to show his superiority in front of the already superior Toby mother and son, so as to conceal his inner inferiority complex. These methods are violence, ridicule and scolding. Although in the eyes of Toby's mother and son, these means are unreasonable, but Du Huai himself believes that it is self-evident. As a result, modern concepts and old-fashioned traditions are constantly colliding. To say that Du Huai is completely unwilling to make progress doesn't seem right. In his eyes, the so-called change is that there was no TV before, but now there is. He can also play a few saxophones without a tune. You can also put on a suit and tie and pretend to light a cigarette for Marianne. He thought he was a civilized man. In fact, the fur he has learned is still a hundred and eighty thousand miles away from civilization. It is reminiscent of Mark Twain's words: "Should we continue to grant our civilization to those who sit in the dark, or should we give these poor people a break?"
Toby's mother Caroline is a woman who is optimistic and full of confidence in life. No matter how big things are, "she also forgets them all". But when she went through a failed marriage and making friends, she traveled around with Toby, and was homeless everywhere. In the end, she said disheartenedly: "I don't want to run anymore, I'm all hurt." Compared with the previous situation, she felt that finding Du Huai was not bad, at least she had a stable life. Therefore, in life, I accommodated Du Huai everywhere, endured his bizarre way of making love, and applauded Du Huai's obvious clumsy playing against his will. Hearing Du Huai scolding Toby, he remained silent. It wasn't until Dolby's behavior that nearly ruined Toby's future that she completely broke out: "You've been afraid that someone will get what you never got, which makes you a scumbag!"
Although Toby is still a teenager, he has experienced a lot, seen a lot, and made him think a lot with his mother. Zhou Xun in "Balzac and the Little Tailor" thought of "the world is so big, I want to see it". And what Toby thought was: "I already knew that the world is very big, and I can't be wronged in this small town." What he was most worried about was that like those mediocre people in the small town, he was willing to degenerate. So he used all means, right and wrong, in order to let himself and encourage his mother to get rid of Du Huai and get rid of Kang Keli.
So what happens when they get out of their old life? Like the question that was asked a long time ago: what happens when Nora goes away? There have also been people who ridiculed those young people who ran away to pan for gold. Yes. The world outside is wonderful and helpless, maybe they succeed, maybe they fail, maybe they are smooth sailing, maybe they will encounter setbacks, just like Toby was ordered to drop out of school after that, all kinds of lives are waiting for them. And their own understanding of the new life is very hazy. In any case, it is much better than this lifeless life now. What they pursue is not only money, but also to accumulate life experience, to broaden their horizons, and to experience the colorful life. To show the side of human nature that desires to change, to become a modern person.
De Niro's performance in the film is still very good, which is another kind of character he has received after playing many good and bad characters. The distorted character of Du Huai is vividly displayed. The kind of jealousy towards Toby gnashing his teeth, the politeness in the vulgarity, when Toby's mother and son left, he almost begged helplessly: "What do you want me to do?" The fledgling Xiao Lizi's acting skills are also unexpectedly good. A child in his teens, with the rebellious psychology of adolescence, also has his own thinking and strong likes and dislikes, deliberately but not completely imitating adults to spit swearing and smoking, pretending to be smart. Good measure of measure!
The director of the film also worked hard. It's a departure from the usual style of Hollywood films of the 90s. The whole plot is derived from a true story, so there is not so much drama, no coincidence, and no strong causal relationship. It's even more believable if it's described in a straightforward manner. The music and songs chosen for the film are also very nice.
My rating: 7.5.
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