Sleepers

Starring: Kevin Bacon, Robert De Niro, & Brad Pitt

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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.