Sleepers (1996)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Barry Levinson

Writers (WGA):

Lorenzo Carcaterra (book)
Barry Levinson (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 October 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

When friendship runs deeper than blood

Plot:

After a prank goes disastrously wrong, a group of boys are sent to a detention center where they are brutalized; over 10 years later, they get their chance for revenge.

Plot Keywords:

Guard | Revenge | Prank | Beating | Abuse

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Kevin Bacon	...	Sean Nokes
Billy Crudup	...	Tommy Marcano
Robert De Niro	...	Father Bobby
Ron Eldard	...	John Reilly
Minnie Driver	...	Carol Martinez
Vittorio Gassman	...	King Benny
Dustin Hoffman	...	Danny Snyder
Terry Kinney	...	Ralph Ferguson
Bruno Kirby	...	Shakes' Father
Frank Medrano	...	Fat Mancho
Jason Patric	...	Lorenzo 'Shakes' Carcaterra
Joseph Perrino	...	Young Lorenzo 'Shakes' Carcaterra (as Joe Perrino)
Brad Pitt	...	Michael Sullivan
Brad Renfro	...	Young Michael Sullivan
Geoffrey Wigdor	...	Young John Reilly

MPAA:

Rated R for language, graphic violence and two scenes of strong sexual content.

Runtime:

147 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Iceland:16 | Philippines:PG-13 | New Zealand:R16 | Australia:MA | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 (bw) | Italy:T | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (original rating) | UK:18 (video rating) (1997) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Cafe Elysian - 1001 Washington Street, Hoboken, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Baltimore Pictures

Trivia:

The code name "Edmund" that is used in the paper to notify Micheal that he needed to contact Shakes is the name of the main character, Edmund Dantes, from "The Count of Monte Cristo".

Goofs:

Continuity: When the hot dog wagon starts to fall down the subway, the umbrella stays on the stairs. Then we see it being crushed by the wagon. Then it's back on the stairs again.

Quotes:

Lorenzo: The temperature topped out at ninety-eight degrees the day our lives were forever altered.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Bill Pullman/New Edition (#22.3)" (1996)

Soundtrack:

Catch a Wave

Disturbing, powerful, but lacking a certain something.

Disturbing drama about four kids sent to a juvenile jail where they were sexually abused, only for them to grow into men years later and seek vengeance on the man (Kevin Bacon) who abused them. A good effort on all accounts, but the film falls apart somewhere in the second half, and seems a bit too bent on making the audience cringe during flashbacks than really trust the story as it sits. Robert De Niro seems a bit held back as a priest, while Brad Pitt and Dustin Hoffman surprisingly hold one's interest more than anyone else.

3.5/5 stars -

John Ulmer