Sleepers

Being a big classic De Niro fan I can't believe I missed this movie for so long. Sleepers is a powerful drama that chronicles the story of four boys who are the victims of horrible abuse. When they grow into broken men facing their trauma, the story shifts gears to a revenge story about manipulating a trial to get true justice and closure. The arc of the movie takes you through a litany thoughts and feelings that affect sexual abuse victims over the course of their lives in a powerful way. The courtroom plot is also very compelling, albeit not exactly rife with external conflict. The struggles take place in the characters hearts and minds and the film conveys it beautifully.

If I had to be super critical I'd say the ultimate fates of the four leads lacks punch because we know it from the outset. It's a small complaint though because the road to get there is so compelling. Sleepers is a powerful, sweeping drama that everyone should see at least once.

Sleeper(1996) is a deeply emotional and brilliant film that was overlooked in 1996. It deals with the past and how events from the past can be instrumential in shaping the present. The movie was very controversial due to the subject matter. I believe that one reason that Sleepers(1996) didn't get the praise it deserved is the film deals with things that were already present in Mean Streets(1973) and Once Upon a Time in America(1984). The first half of the feature reminds me a lot of the flash back sequences from Once Upon a Time in America(1984). Brad Pitt gives what I see as the best performance of his life. What I also like about Sleepers(1996) is that it puts together two of the best actors of their genreation in Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro.

The first half of the film is really strong and the scene that serves as the transition to the second half (the bar scene) is fantastic. I felt that the the latter half as a whole was a bit of a bubble though: there is a lot of The Count of Monte Cristo (the book that is referenced in the film a lot, check it out if you haven't) -esque revenge build-up but the payoff is a disappointment. For me, there were also slight pacing issues towards the end, along with some tonal choices I wasn't a fan of. Still, I'd say it's a fairly recommendable drama.

Rating: 6/10

Sleepers is one of theses films which disturbs, provokes and affects the audience deeply. It leaves some wounds, injuries, traces. This mixture of "GoodFellas" and "Once Upon a Time in America" directed brightly and brilliantly mingles a lot of subjects, issues and themes. While throughout the movie, intimacy, religion, thought seem to be the ways for enduring the violence, hoping and believing, trust, relationships, friendship seem to be the ways for saving each other. A great film.

If you're able to to turn a blind eye to the implausibility of the end, or instead see it as an interpretation of the lengths people will to go to for justice when the system has let them down then, coupled with the very realistic and believable earlier parts of the story, you have a very sad but not uncommon tale centred on abuse, with outstanding performances all round and a genuine reason to take a blood pressure pill to calm yourself down.