Sleepers – Movie Review
Director: Barry Levinson
Writer: Barry Levinson (Screenplay)
Writer: Lorenzo Carcaterra (Book)
Cast
- Kevin Bacon (Apollo 13)
- Robert De Niro (Killers of the Flower Moon)
- Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man)
- Jason Patric (Speed 2)
- Brad Pitt (Mr and Mrs Smith)
Plot: After a prank goes disastrously wrong, a group of boys are sent to a detention center where they are brutalized. Thirteen years later, an unexpected random encounter with a former guard gives them a chance for revenge.
Runtime: 2 Hours 27 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Sleepers starts when four boys Shakes, Tommy, John and Michael grow up on Hell’s Kitchen’s hard streets. They are guided by Father Bobby (De Niro) who tries to keep them on the right side of the law. However, they are drawn to help local mobster King Benny (Gassman). But their lives will be turned upside down by a prank gone wrong.
The boys are sent to a detention center where they get brutalised by guard Nokes (Bacon) and his team. Years after they are released, they grew up different and a chance meeting with Nokes changes everything. Meanwhile, Michael (Pitt) has become a lawyer and sees this case as a chance to expose the detention centre’s big secret.
Verdict on Sleepers
Sleepers is a drama thriller following four childhood friends who suffered horrendous abuse in a detention center. As adults, they kill the ringleader and put together a trial that can expose the truth, without knowing they were previous victims.
This movie shows a systematic level of abuse level of abuse going on in young people’s detention centres. It does take a while to get to the trial, as it spends a lot of time going on the abuse suffered. This shows how a neighbourhood can come together for their people to make things better and defend each other in a difficult situation. However, it doesn’t feel like enough was done to expose the secrets and deal with the problems and leaves a lot like we could have had more. It doesn’t feel like the problems have been solved, just the man four getting an ounce of justice.
Where to Watch
a JustWatchFinal Thoughts – Sleepers is an interesting journey for justice.