Sleepwalking (2008)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

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:

Foster Care | Child | Road Trip | Stash | Abandonment

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)

about as depressing as can be

My interpretation of "Sleepwalking" as extremely depressing may spring from the fact that I knew nothing about it when I started watching it. Charlize Theron plays down-and-out Jolene, who dumps her daughter Tara (AnnaSophia Robb) on her brother James (Nick Stahl) and disappears. James now has to reconsider how he has lived his whole life.

The wintry setting in this movie has the same effect as the setting in "Affliction": as bleak as can be...especially after what ends up happening after James and Tara go on the road. Definitely not a film that will leave you feeling good. Not to demean the movie at all; I do recommend it. You just have to understand that this is a VERY depressing one, exactly the sort of movie to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. I don't know whether or not you'll like it, but I still encourage you to at least check it out. Also starring Dennis Hopper, Woody Harrelson and Mathew St. Patrick (who played Keith on "Six Feet Under"). I assume that director William Maher is not the same as Bill Maher of "Real Time with Bill Maher".