Moderate
57 of 136 found this moderate
Four teenaged boys yell at a passing riverboat and they pull their pants down to moon the sailor. The boys are later seen playing basketball in the rain and some of their bare butts are shown again.
Jim Carroll masturbates on a roof, the footage is so dark that no full frontial nudity is visible.
A teenaged boy (Jim) fornicates with a prostitute (she is shown in underwear): they are later pictured nude in bed, strategically covered.
Two teenaged boys Jim and Bobby watch a female stripper. Nothing is shown except only exotic dancing while wearing nipple tassels, the scene lasts 5 seconds then it ends, NO NUDITY!!
Severe
43 of 70 found this severe
The violence is not the most disturbing part, even if it still is disturbing. It's DiCaprios character's struggle with his heroin addiction. Those scenes are very, very strong.
Jim has a fantasy where he is seen killing his classmates with a shotgun with bloody results.
Jim is paddled by his teacher.
Jim and his friends get into a fight with another basketball team. Jim throws a basketball at a man's head while Mickey hits him with a bottle, breaking it. They then repeatedly kick the other team while they are on the ground.
Jim pushes Swifty into a wall causing his nose to bleed.
Mickey threatens Pedro with an unloaded gun
Mickey accidentally pushes a drug dealer off a roof, killing him. He then runs outside and is beaten by a few people and left for the police.
A man punches Jim causing him to bleed and then pushes him down a flight of stairs.
Jim tries to attack Reggie.
Mickey's brother, Kenny, tackles Mickey to the ground and breaks his arm.
Severe
53 of 74 found this severe
"Cocksucker" is said once by Leonardo DiCaprio's character
"Faggot" is said by Jim during an argument with his coach.
Frequent strong language. 78 uses of f*ck including motherf*cker and a whole bunch of sh*t, b*tch, assh*le, d*ck, and more.
Severe
67 of 75 found this severe
The film is about heroin use so there are plenty of scenes of using and talking about heroin. The characters also smoke marijuana and Jim is seen snorting cocaine. There is talk of using uppers and downers. Jim and his friends are seen smoking cigarettes throughout.
Severe
52 of 74 found this severe
A teenager goes through graphic heroin withdrawals (vomiting, grunting, excessive shaking, and severe pain). The teen begs for just a little heroin.
A group of boys are kicked off the basketball team for drug use. That night one of them has an intense argument with his mother and is kicked out of the house.
Jim imagines himself shooting all of his classmates with bloody results