Sleepwalking (2008)

Director:

Bill Maher

Writer:

Zac Stanford (screenplay)

Release Date:

30 May 2008 (Taiwan)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The drama follows an 11-year-old girl's struggle to come to terms with her mother's abandonment.

Plot Keywords:

Abandonment | Childhood | Road Trip | Foster Care | Stash

Cast

Nick Stahl	...	James
AnnaSophia Robb	...	Tara
Charlize Theron	...	Joleen
Deborra-Lee Furness	...	Danni
Mathew St. Patrick	...	Detective #1
Callum Keith Rennie	...	Will
Woody Harrelson	...	Randall
Dennis Hopper	...	Mr. Reedy
Ken Mitchell	...	Mr. Bergen
Jean Freeman	...	Mrs. Bergen
Troy Skog	...	Warren
George Grassick	...	Cop #1
Mike Ennis	...	Cop #2
Alexandra Fox	...	Darlene
Lori Ann Kennedy	...	Foster Care Worker (as Lori Kennedy)

Also Known As:

Ferris Wheel (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and a scene of violence.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada

Company:

Denver and Delilah Productions

Trivia:

The working title for this production was ‘Ferris Wheel’.

Quotes:

James: [referring to Joleen and her new boyfriend] Do you know where they might be?
Tara: [when Warren doesn't answer] Do you even know you're in jail? It's your fault she left in the first place, Warren. This whole thing is your fault.
Warren: No, I'm just wondering how long this has been going on, that's what I'd like to know.
Tara: [leaning toward Warren with a savage pleasure on her face] Do you know what Mom would call you? She had a name for you. When it was just me and her talking. She'd say it and we'd laugh. Do you know what it was?
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Blue Velvet (1986)

Strong performances from Nick Stahl, Annasophia Robb and the rest of the cast are barely enough to save 'Sleepwalking' from stumbling in its own plot.

Despite the mostly negative reviews I've read about 'Sleepwalking', I wanted to see if Annasophia Robb really did live up to what the critics have been raving the past couple months. And she does, in a huge way. With a natural presence and believable acting, Annasophia displays one of the best performances I've seen from a child actor/actress. While she did a great job in BTT and Have Dreams, she doesn't show any signs of the occasional stiff acting that she had in her previous films. Playing the part of the abandoned and emotionally troubled Tara is a very complex process that not many young actors can endure, yet Annasophia portrays her every emotion smoothly. Her chemistry with Stahl's character was convincing and heartfelt. At first I was a little bit on the skeptical side on whether or not her performance was Oscar-worthy; but after watching this movie, I immediately brushed said thoughts aside.

That said, this movie is James's (Nick Stahl) story, and he delivers. His performance really brought out the raw emotion that most of the film lacked. At certain scenes one could just sense the extreme pain and sorrow that James is going through as he grows more fond of his niece, only to see her get taken away, that and other aspects of his character makes a nice buildup to his climactic transformation near the end. Charlize Theron, though only present in a handful of scenes in the film, takes full advantage of them and helps create a truly believable troubled American family. Dennis Hopper is, well...Dennis Hopper. He can pull off playing any crazed and sadistic bastard in a snap and succeeds. Despite his character being as one dimensional as one can get, Hopper does a pretty good job making the film more morbid than it already is.

Positives aside, here is where the film gets it's real flaws: the story. Besides extremely powerful performances by the leads, Sleepwalking's story suffers from it's overtly dark tone and predictability. Yes, it's supposed to be a morbid take on abandonment and abuse, but unfortunately that's all there is. The characters stumble from one unlucky bump in the road to another without any real relief for them. Besides the budding almost brother-sister type relationship that James and Tara develops, it doesn't really stop the film from becoming increasingly bleak. And quite honestly, as much as I tried to defend it, I didn't understand James's notion to return to his abusive and bitter father's farm. Once he mentions going there in the film, especially with all the comments that he heard from Tara, predicting hell in Satan's frozen ranch wasn't very far-fetched. I enjoy films that are open to interpretation and don't give out easy answers. However, Sleepwalking's ending hardly even tries to put some sort of resolution. It's an all-throughout morbid storyline that DESERVED a true resolution, sadly it barely had one.

I enjoyed Sleepwalking. I loved the characters and the performances (Especially Robb and Stahl), but like the ratings that you've read throughout the web, it was just barely enough to carry the weight of a bland and predictable story.