brad renfro

Description

Sleepers tells the story of four childhood friends, Shakes (Joseph Perrino), Tommy (Jonathon Tucker), Mike (Brad Renfro) and John (Geoffrey Widgor), all raised in Manhattans Hell's Kitchen - a neighbourhood immersed in crime, where hoodlums run the streets. What starts out as a joyous movie experience, a tale of fond childhood memories, with an ambience similar to Rob Reiner's Stand By Me, soon takes a turn for the worst, and becomes a dark tale in which its four young subjects are forced to face a cruel and degrading punishment that will change and scar them forever. Based on the novel by Lorenzo Carcaterra, it is said to have been a true story, but a disclaimer before the movies end credits claim that both the New York Youth Correctional Authorities and the Manhattan's District Attorney's office deny that the events had actually taken place. Well, whether they did or they didn't Sleepers makes for a great story, and gives the opportunity for some excellent performances by it's A-List stars and its supporting cast alike. Although it does contain some moments of greatness, it unfortunately feels a little too standard and dull in places. The picture opens in the mid to late 60's and we follow the children as they loiter on the city streets, playing stickball and causing mischief. We see their interaction with other children, as well as their relationship with their local priest, the streetwise Father Bobby, played by DeNiro, who watches over these children like a true friend, and we see their first steps into the criminal underworld around them as they begin to run errands for the local gangster King Benny. It all seems like good fun, a cross between Stand By Me, as I said, and the opening scenes of Goodfellas. The energy here is at its peak, and the soundtrack that accompanies the various stories and characters makes this a colourful introduction. But it soon takes a turn for the worst as a childish prank on a hotdog vender critically injures a pedestrian. The children are sentenced to time inside Wilkinson, a detention facility for boys, where under the rule of sinister guard Sean Nokes, an authentically hateful role by Kevin Bacon, they are continuously abused, tortured and raped for the duration of their stay. The child actors put in some great performances and give us not just a believable friendship, but also a glimpse into some gruelling, tortured and tormented souls, having to bare and face up to the heinous punishments that they had been dished out by their cruel captors. The prison sequence bares some well shot sequences, shrouded in shadow, the action indirect, but none the less effective. The finer performances I feel come from DeNiro, as the friendly priest, who's face holds the screen alone in silence for what seems like an age on hearing the story, and shows every emotion that he felt, whilst the light twinkles in his eyes as tears well up behind his strong persona. Hoffman as the greasy failing drunk lawyer too, is a great role, and one that he seems to play well, someone slightly off kilter and useless. The film does tell a great story, with a few good sequences but sometimes I feel it misses the mark. It opens strong, and then fades into a somewhat grey atmosphere before its over. At times it seems to border on absurdity, and where certain parts are rushed and brushed over, it doesn't always seem plausible. The whole planning exactly how the court case will go, whilst hiding from the court their connections to the accused and their past seems a little too contrived. But it is a good watch.