The Stone Boy

PG

1984

1 hr. 33 min.

Drama

List

67%

6 Reviews

Tomatometer

44%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

While hunting one morning, farm boy Arnold (Jason Presson) accidentally shoots and kills his brother after his gun becomes stuck in a fence. When he tells his parents, Joe (Robert Duvall) and Ruth (Glenn Close), what happened, they react with a mixture of shock and anger. Arnold is deeply disturbed, finding himself unable to speak or communicate in any way. His grandfather (Wilford Brimley) is compassionate, but Arnold still runs away from his Montana home to Reno, Nev., looking for escape.

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russell p

This movie moved me so much and I especially related to the grief. I'd love to see it again ❤️

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/16/24

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Audience Member

Between a 6/10 and 7/10, the tragic story is compassionately told and well acted.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

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Audience Member

Wow, one of the most depressing movies I have seen. I've got to stop watching The ______ Boy movies. The Mudge Boy remains one of the most disturbing I've seen, and this one is just too depressing to enjoy at all. It's 1984 and a 12-year old boy accidentally shoots his brother and kills him while hunting. I like stories that disentegrate around one event. Phillip Roth's American Pastoral, Joyce Carol Oates' We were the Mulvaneys, the song/video to Indian Summer by Brooks and Dunn. This family kinda falls apart after the shooting, but with the film quality, acting, and farm life, it's just too much. Robert Duvall is generally subtle but masterful. I just cannot recall a poor performance by him. In this, he's almost uncomfortably good just by doing nothing. There are some other funny cast members. Glenn Close went on to be very successful. The brother who gets shot is none other than Superman Dean Cain. The lady on the bus one day becomes Sara O'Connor. The other huge thing in this movie is drinking while pregnant. The lady can't figure out why she keeps having miscarriages?! I don't think it is intentional...I think in the movie it is a health problem, but once she chooses to drink whiskey herself, and another time it is offered to her to calm her. I can't really think of another movie, even old ones, where a pregnant woman drinks (sadly, I've seen it in bars a couple of times). This is just a pretty awkward and depressing movie all-around. I don't think it would be nearly as effective in 2010, but with the dress and graininess of a 1984 movie...and the ignorance evidently back then... it's a great premise for a movie, and the downer feeling of the premise carries itself through the entire show.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

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Audience Member

this movie is coool very sweet

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

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Audience Member

bad. just boring and slow. such a great cast though.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

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Christopher Cain

Director

Robert Duvall

Joe Hillerman

Jason Presson

Arnold Hillerman

Glenn Close

Ruth Hillerman

Frederic Forrest

Andy Jansen

Wilford Brimley

George Jansen

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David Elliott

Gannett News Service

This film is sincere, earnest and irritating.

Jan 30, 2019

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Well intentioned yet pervasively dull...

Rated: 2/4

Jan 24, 2010

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Jun 25, 2005

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Compassionately told and finely acted.

Rated: B+

Jun 3, 2005

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Philip Martin

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Rated: 3/5

Feb 7, 2005

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Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Spirituality & Practice

An extraordinary film with its focus on grief, guilt, and the lamentable dynamics of a family unable to handle or cope with tragedy

Jul 23, 2003

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Synopsis

While hunting one morning, farm boy Arnold (Jason Presson) accidentally shoots and kills his brother after his gun becomes stuck in a fence. When he tells his parents, Joe (Robert Duvall) and Ruth (Glenn Close), what happened, they react with a mixture of shock and anger. Arnold is deeply disturbed, finding himself unable to speak or communicate in any way. His grandfather (Wilford Brimley) is compassionate, but Arnold still runs away from his Montana home to Reno, Nev., looking for escape.

Director: Christopher Cain
Executive Producer: James G. Robinson
Screenwriter: Gina Berriault
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013

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