Review of Sleepers (1996) by Filipeneto — 18 Jan 2020

Powerful, disturbing, it addresses disturbing topics.

This film starts with a bad joke by a group of criminals and where a man ends up dying. The entire group is tried and the juvenile court condemns them to one year in a reformatory, which in practice is a prison for minors. There, young people will be humiliated and finally sexually abused by guards. Decades later, deeply traumatized by the experiences lived there, they finally have the opportunity to take revenge.

The film is intense. It is not at all recommended for a family afternoon as they have deeply difficult scenes, involving pedophilia and blasphemy against Catholic religious symbols. Skillfully directed and written by Barry Levinson, it has a pleasant rhythm, putting young people's lives in context and explaining how they end up falling into marginality. However, after a certain moment, it becomes basically a court drama full of amorality. The accepted film basically says that everything that happened in the reformatory justified the revenge actions years later, and never directly questions whether it was worth it for young people. Well, in a way, it does this discreetly by revealing each other's fate to us at the end of the film, but it can go unnoticed by many people.

Overall, the cast's performance is positive but it could be better. I particularly highlight the work of Vittorio Gassman and especially Kevin Bacon, who proved to be extraordinary. The children's roles were good enough, as were Robert de Niro and Dustin Hoffman who managed to make his character look incompetent and despicable. The worst was seeing Brad Pitt just show up and look too much like himself. I think it was not the most suitable film for this actor. The production values ​​are within the standard that Hollywood has accustomed us to. Regular cinematography, discreet but effective soundtrack, credible costumes and sets.

Highly inadvisable to children or impressionable people, it is a film that, despite occasional flaws, is powerful and holds us to the end without tiring or making us regret it. Worth seeing.