X
- 1996
- R
- Warner Bros.
- 2 h 27 m
- 1996
- R
- Warner Bros.
- 2 h 27 m
Summary When a Hell's kitchen prank goes awry, a group of boys are sent to a reform institution, where they experience brutal sexual assaults by the sadistic "caretakers." Many years later, a pair of the now-grown victims encounter their chief tormenter and plot to exact revenge.
Directed By: Barry Levinson
Written By: Lorenzo Carcaterra, Barry Levinson
- 1996
- R
- Warner Bros.
- 2 h 27 m
- 1996
- R
- Warner Bros.
- 2 h 27 m
Sleepers
49
8.0
Where to Watch
Summary When a Hell's kitchen prank goes awry, a group of boys are sent to a reform institution, where they experience brutal sexual assaults by the sadistic "caretakers." Many years later, a pair of the now-grown victims encounter their chief tormenter and plot to exact revenge.
Directed By: Barry Levinson
Written By: Lorenzo Carcaterra, Barry Levinson
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 18 Critic Reviews
49
50% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
17% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
33% Negative
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 18 Critic Reviews
49
50% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
17% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
33% Negative
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
Colorful characters, richly evoked settings, epic story of friendship, crime and punishment, and a strong dose of good old-fashioned star power.
At some low, what's-next level, Sleepers works like, well, gangbusters.
[28 October 1996, p. 113]
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 152 User Ratings
8.0
82% Positive
124 Ratings
124 Ratings
11% Mixed
16 Ratings
16 Ratings
8% Negative
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 152 User Ratings
8.0
82% Positive
124 Ratings
124 Ratings
11% Mixed
16 Ratings
16 Ratings
8% Negative
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
This movie was so sad, I felt so sorry, what happened to the 4 boys. So yes, the movie was well made: thats the function of a movie: take you into another world. In addition there are many top actors, who played brilliantly of course.
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Es una película bastante triste y deprimente, pero también emocional y profunda.
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As entertainment, the movie functions successfully. But I don't believe the story is true--not true to the facts, and not true to the morality it pretends to be about.
By the end, the main thing that's been abused is the audience's intelligence.
Somewhat byzantine in execution and confusing in its logic, the film's second half never achieves the catharsis you'd expect.
The film's tone works overtime at mythologizing tawdry incidents into some ultimate epic about the lost innocence of youth. Gilded trash is more like it.
Rent the devastating "The Boys of St. Vincent" to see how slick and hollow Sleepers is, how little it reveals about the real nature and effect of child abuse. [28 October 1996, p. 74]
By this point, Sleepers is legendary, not only as a film that told of the shocking true story of abuse inside of juvenile prisons, but for launching the careers of some of today's best known stars. Along with being one of Brad Pitt and Jason Patric's first major roles, it also launched the film careers of Jonathan Tucker and Geoff Wigdor. Along with a terrific cast of legends and newcomers, Sleepers brought with it an intense story, the likes of which we hadn't really seen before. The film starts out by introducing us to four boys in Hell's Kitchen during the 1960's. These boys are your typical young teens, having fun, and horsing around, when a horrible accident leads them to jail. This is where they're troubles really begin. The second part of the film jumps twenty years into the future, where we see firsthand how this abuse had a profound effect on all the boys, and the results that come from their behavior. The only major actor in both time periods is Kevin Bacon who just keeps getting better. By that point in his career, I'm sure Bacon could have play just about anyone and made it believable. Other people like Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman, give strong performance in what amounts to bit parts in support of the newcomers. Their influence can be seen throughout the film, especially in support of the child actors who I'm sure benefited from being around such legends of the screen. Sleepers is an unbelievable true story that was so well written and supported by some fantastic performances. It's not the perfect movie, but I think it's pretty close.
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Powerful, disturbing, it addresses disturbing topics.
This film starts with a bad joke by a group of criminals and where a man ends up dying. The entire group is tried and the juvenile court condemns them to one year in a reformatory, which in practice is a prison for minors. There, young people will be humiliated and finally sexually abused by guards. Decades later, deeply traumatized by the experiences lived there, they finally have the opportunity to take revenge.
The film is intense. It is not at all recommended for a family afternoon as they have deeply difficult scenes, involving pedophilia and blasphemy against Catholic religious symbols. Skillfully directed and written by Barry Levinson, it has a pleasant rhythm, putting young people's lives in context and explaining how they end up falling into marginality. However, after a certain moment, it becomes basically a court drama full of amorality. The accepted film basically says that everything that happened in the reformatory justified the revenge actions years later, and never directly questions whether it was worth it for young people. Well, in a way, it does this discreetly by revealing each other's fate to us at the end of the film, but it can go unnoticed by many people.
Overall, the cast's performance is positive but it could be better. I particularly highlight the work of Vittorio Gassman and especially Kevin Bacon, who proved to be extraordinary. The children's roles were good enough, as were Robert de Niro and Dustin Hoffman who managed to make his character look incompetent and despicable. The worst was seeing Brad Pitt just show up and look too much like himself. I think it was not the most suitable film for this actor. The production values are within the standard that Hollywood has accustomed us to. Regular cinematography, discreet but effective soundtrack, credible costumes and sets.
Highly inadvisable to children or impressionable people, it is a film that, despite occasional flaws, is powerful and holds us to the end without tiring or making us regret it. Worth seeing.
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[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]
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Production Company
Astoria Films,
Baltimore Pictures,
Polygram Filmed Entertainment,
Propaganda Films,
Warner Bros.
Release Date Oct 18, 1996
Duration 2 h 27 m
Rating R
Tagline When friendship runs deeper than blood
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Nomination
YoungStar Awards
• 2 Nominations
Young Artist Awards
• 2 Nominations
