Sleepwalking (2008)

Good movie but grossly overrated

Absolutely the worst movie.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

It's indie, depressing, dark, psychological, slow-paced, disturbing, dramatic, completely unheard of, a couple years old, and hated by almost everybody else... basically, it's right up my alley. Sleepwalking tells the story of a struggling single mother (Charlize Theron) who has had various misguided relationships with abusive, thuggish boyfriends, and her brother James (Nick Stahl)'s relationship with her troubled and cumbersome daughter Tara (AnnaSophia Robb). As stated previously, the film is slow-paced. It moves from one gloomy set-piece to another, each full of people wearing frowns and woolly hats. It only takes the scene when Tara comes home from school and frustrates her mother to breaking point for the viewer to realise how messed up the life of this family is. We then see Theron's character enjoy a few moments in the spotlight as per usual with her latest boyfriend Randall (Woody Harrelson) but, in fairness, nobody cares. If I wanted to watch a troubled and dysfunctional middle-aged woman battle her way through a string of moronic partners, I'd watch Coronation Street, or Sex and the City, or something. What is far more interesting is the relationship between James and Tara, as the latter becomes more and more detached from her mother and the former loses his job. Tara is placed in a foster home and hates it, at which point they decide to go on the run on limited budget. The couple share many scenes together, and, although their conversations are inconclusive for the most part, the chemistry between the pair is enough to be engaging. What follows is a myriad of long distance shots of the couple on the road, accompanied by various depressing pieces of music, after which the pair decide to change their names and up sticks to James' childhood home, an old ranch which reeks of sadness, abuse and repressed anger from the moment we see it. It is at this point that the film really kicks off. James is at first greeted with relative calm by his redneck thug of a father (Dennis Hopper) but as James and Tara are forced into hard labour of increasing difficulty (coiling a rope, for example - Dennis, how could you expect for a 12-year old misfit living in a suburban environment to be able to coil a rope perfectly right off the box?) we begin to see that he is in fact an abusive, violent and rage-filled character, epitomised by his horrific treatment of his son and of a young girl he has never met, and soon what was meant to be a 'vacation' becomes hell on earth. And then there's the roller-coaster ride that is the final barn scene- child abuse, a sudden release of anger and a somewhat predictable yet still powerful and hard-hitting climax make this an incredibly hot-to-handle piece of cinema, to put it mildly.Sleepwalking is a film made far stronger by two brilliant performances- Nick Stahl as James, and AnnaSophia Robb as Tara. Stahl is excellent as James, a hard-done by, cowardly (initially) yet pleasant man who only wants the best for himself and his niece. The conversations between Stahl and Robb are convincing despite an iffy script, and Stahl's James is a modest and likable character, his brutal actions at the end of the film perhaps notwithstanding. I've been seeing a lot of Ms Robb lately courtesy of my younger brother's infatuation with her, and, having been through most of her films, I can say with confidence that this, on par with Bridge To Terabithia, is Robb's best performance. If they give Oscars to child actresses, she'd batter have won one for this. She acts with astounding maturity in what is quite a tricky role to play- she must be bratty yet likable, which most would agree is not a personality match made in heaven. However, she more than succeeds in this task - she is very sweet, seems comfortable and manages to act far beyond her years, making even Hollywood A-lister Theron look sub-par. Robb has emerged as to some extent the indie Dakota Fanning, and in my book has far surpassed Dakota's range with some of the projects she has done. The duo completely steal the spotlight in this film, and light it up in spite of its script and slow pace. Moving on, we have a good performance from Hopper as the deliberately despicable father, a relatively good performance from Theron and some very telling shots of the countryside that help set the scene for what is a gloomy and gritty coming-of-age film about the struggles of life. If you're looking for a good time... don't watch this, by any means. If you're looking for a fine piece of indie cinema and fancy some drama, give it a go. 8/10.

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."

Charlize Theron produced this movie and takes the key role as the whacked out mother. While it is a key role, it still must be regarded as a supporting role. When the movie begins she and her 12 year old daughter are forced to move out of her boyfriend's place when he is arrested for dope and growing it. Their only short-term hope is to crash at her brother's spartan place, with no real plan. The daughter just wants to live the way a normal 12-year-old school girl lives but with mom that seems pretty well impossible.Nick Stahl is good as the brother, James. AnnaSophia Robb is superb as the daughter, Tara. And of course Charlize Theron is the mom, Joleen.When mom goes out one evening and never returns, things change even more. Then when James, a rather "dull" person, loses his menial job, and already 60 days behind on his rent, they have to look for even more drastic solutions. They end up taking a road trip, and that trip takes them back to the farm where his dad still lives and works the farm.Joleen had often said that she would NEVER go back to that place and we soon find out why. Dennis Hopper as Mr. Reedy, "Dad", is about the most severe person you could find. He won't allow them any rest, or vacation, he gets both of them up at the crack of dawn and requires them to work all day. Tara quickly figures out why her mom hates that place and had severed ties with grandpa. The movie examines their plight and the theme, per the title, is for the main players to see if they can quit sleepwalking through life and get on a better, happier track. By the end it appears that they will.SPOILERS: James is able to tolerate his severe dad, at least at first, because he had no choice. No money and no place to go. But one day when dad starts to beat Tara in the barn when he doesn't like her attitude, James beats him with a large shovel and kills him. He travels back to home, where Tara and Joleen are reunited, but James keeps on trucking. We don't know what happened to him.

May induce sleeping, I don't know about sleepwalking. I doubt in cause when I woke from drifting off I was still in the same chair and unfortunately still watching this movie. It goes from dry, depressing, dark and pointless to even more of the same. The acting is not very good, which is an insult to Denise Hoper, Woody Harrelson and especially Charlize Theron, I expect way more from an Academy Award winning actress. It cannot all be blamed on her performance but I ask myself, why aren't Academy Award winners more picky about the movies they choose post winning. This film is another example of a trailer being better then the movie, just by watching the trailer and having this cast, most directors could make a better movie. I'm honestly trying to think of a positive but I'm just coming up empty. I mentioned in my review for The Love Guru about bias towards comedies and that they automatically get a lower ratting because they are comedies. I feel this is sometimes the same way with dramas, sometimes they really do suck, but because they deal with emotions and imitate real life situations they automatically get a higher ratting then they deserve.