The cast also features Chris Cooper, and Carla Gugino, Eliza Dushku, as well as Tobey Maguire's first credited appearance in a feature-length film.

The marriage proceeds, and Caroline and Toby move into Dwight's home in Concrete (Newhalem in the book), a small town near the north Cascades Mountains.

The screen rights were acquired by Peter Guber, then head of Guber-Peters Productions at Warner Bros. Pictures, shortly after the memoir's 1989 publication.

[4] This Boy's Life marked the cinematic debut of actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who portrayed "Toby" at seventeen years old during filming.

[5] Initially, Debra Winger was set to star as "Caroline" but withdrew due to scheduling conflicts, leading to Ellen Barkin taking over the role.

Actor Robert De Niro, playing the abusive stepfather "Dwight," extensively consulted with Tobias Wolff in preparation for the role.

Filming also took place for ten days in Concrete, Washington, where crews restored the town's main street to its 1950s appearance.

[14] The main titles (filmed in Professor Valley, Utah) feature Frank Sinatra's version of "Let's Get Away from It All" from his 1958 album Come Fly with Me.

Toby and his mother sing "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair" from the popular post-war musical South Pacific.

However, most of the music reflects Toby's fondness for rock and roll and doo wop, including songs by Eddie Cochran, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, and Link Wray.