Sonâmbulos

The director could not have picked better actors for this film than Nick Stahl and AnnaSophia Robb. Every movie that I have seen AnnaSophia act in, she has taken her role seriously, with the fullest extent of her acting ability, and to heart.

Nick plays the uncle, James, and AnnaSophia plays James' niece, Tara. The two are locked in position with their own dark pasts (Tara dealing with her mother's sudden disappearance after her mother had been unable to look after her due to her lifestyle, and James being the dark memories of his abusive father with him and his sister Joleen *Tara's Mother*).

Now, I am not going to get into detail on everything the movie is about, because I honestly think you really should see the film if you haven't already, and I am not going to spoil it. However, the movie takes you to the dark place (Dennis Hopper plays a dark, twisted, and excellent Role as the Father of James and Joleen). It takes you through the emotions of hitting rock bottom, a child's world upside down in the eyes of a 12 year old, a mother's struggle to hold on, and with no other alternative, a return trip to the farm of evil.

10/10 P.S.: When about to watch this film, remember the words of AnnaSophia Robb herself - "You've got to keep your mind wide open."

I watched this movie today and I must say that it was absolutely amazing. It is drama by genre but most of the time this kind of movies are much better than we thought. With four amazing main actors this movie couldn't fail although only two actors, AnnaSophia Robb and Nick Stahl are keeping this movie so good. After Tara's (Robb) mother Joleen (Charlize Theron) leave's her with her uncle James (Nick Stahl) their lives are start to fall down. James gets fired from his job and social service takes Tara to foster home. One day James comes to visit Tara and by her request they leave the city by car in unknown direction. On they trip they would get more closer, and some events will open their eyes from a long dream. Nick Stahl is great as James. His character's childhood was abuse by his father as his sister Joleen. Charlize Theron is solid, but real star of this movie is AnnaSophia Robb. She has only 14 years old and already playing complex roles like this one. She is going in the right way by now.

The pacing of this movie is a little slow. There were times when i almost gave up on it, and wanted to stop watching it, but didn't. I am glad i finished this movie because there is something so honest, and pure about the subject matter.

What's great about this movie is it's not flashy like people think movies need to be. It is not over the top, not glamorous. This movie is striped to the bare essence of what it takes to make a good film or better, great acting, and a genuine story line.

The movie has a slow start, but a rapid ending that leaves you wanting more. The characters are really well developed. I feel a close connection to all of them. I feel like they are real people, and that's unusual to feel when watching a movie.

It's a movie about choices, about how one moment can change your life. The decisions we make are not always right, most of them are made on impulse, but we still have to deal with the aftermath, and learn a lesson along the way.

Sleepwalking is dealing with the trauma caused by bad parenting passed on from generation to generation and it does so in a very convincing and well crafted way. But be warned that some of the scenes are really hard to watch.

I thinks that actually everything in this movie works. It is a good script well directed. Charlize Theron is good, Hopper is outstanding. AnnaSophia Robb was 15 at the time and deservedly went on to do big things. But the true surprise is Nick Stahl. I have rarely seen him in anything and if I did he never caught my attention. Well he does here. His performance is so subtle. He is one of those actors who can show their emotion with just his eyes. He is outstanding in this movie. Go watch him and go watch this wonderful movie.

You hate to take shots at a film like "Sleepwalking", which was obviously a labor of love for producer Charlize Theron, who called in a lot of favors and assembled a first-rate cast and crew to make this film. But as Yogi Berra once said: "If you don't know where you are going, you'll probably end up someplace else". Apparently there was so much self-delusion going into the project that no one grasped the slow motion train wreck that this film would become after a very promising first 30 minutes.

If nothing else "Sleepwalking" illustrates that the constraining factor limiting the supply of "good" films is in the pre-production area, where producers must grasp at straws in a field of totally lame scripts in the hope that a lot of hard work in the production and post-production phases can make something out of nothing.

"Sleepwalking" could be described as a sanitized version of Terry Gilliam's "Tideland" (2005). Both films are about a young person dealing with an especially traumatic childhood environment and there are a lot of production design similarities. But "Sleepwalking" trades "Tideland's" American Gothic "Alice in Wonderland" quality for a somewhat muddled but very sincere and gritty redemption theme.

This effectively eliminates "Tideland's" off-kilter fans as likely viewers and leaves one wondering who might find the last hour of the film worthwhile viewing. Maybe longtime fans of Joni Mtichell's "Blue" album could tap into it during periods of sedation. Mitchell's comments about her album fit quite nicely into a discussion of "Sleepwalking": "The Blue album, there's hardly a dishonest note in the vocals. At that period of my life, I had no personal defenses. I felt like a cellophane wrapper on a pack of cigarettes. I felt like I had absolutely no secrets from the world and I couldn't pretend in my life to be strong. Or to be happy. But the advantage of it in the music was that there were no defenses there either."

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.