Sleepwalking

You hate to take shots at a film like "Sleepwalking", which was obviously a labor of love for producer Charlize Theron, who called in a lot of favors and assembled a first-rate cast and crew to make this film. But as Yogi Berra once said: "If you don't know where you are going, you'll probably end up someplace else". Apparently there was so much self-delusion going into the project that no one grasped the slow motion train wreck that this film would become after a very promising first 30 minutes.

If nothing else "Sleepwalking" illustrates that the constraining factor limiting the supply of "good" films is in the pre-production area, where producers must grasp at straws in a field of totally lame scripts in the hope that a lot of hard work in the production and post-production phases can make something out of nothing.

"Sleepwalking" could be described as a sanitized version of Terry Gilliam's "Tideland" (2005). Both films are about a young person dealing with an especially traumatic childhood environment and there are a lot of production design similarities. But "Sleepwalking" trades "Tideland's" American Gothic "Alice in Wonderland" quality for a somewhat muddled but very sincere and gritty redemption theme.

This effectively eliminates "Tideland's" off-kilter fans as likely viewers and leaves one wondering who might find the last hour of the film worthwhile viewing. Maybe longtime fans of Joni Mtichell's "Blue" album could tap into it during periods of sedation. Mitchell's comments about her album fit quite nicely into a discussion of "Sleepwalking": "The Blue album, there's hardly a dishonest note in the vocals. At that period of my life, I had no personal defenses. I felt like a cellophane wrapper on a pack of cigarettes. I felt like I had absolutely no secrets from the world and I couldn't pretend in my life to be strong. Or to be happy. But the advantage of it in the music was that there were no defenses there either."

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

"Sleepwalking" starts off a bit like "Frozen River," focused on a single mother struggling to make ends meet in rural America (though it was actually filmed in Saskatchewan). But the movie quickly veers off in another direction, shifting that focus onto her 13-year-old daughter, Tara, and her younger brother, James (the girl's uncle), who are suddenly forced to rely on one another for comfort and support when Joleen temporarily bows out of the picture.

When her boyfriend is arrested for growing marijuana, Jolene (Carlize Theron) and Tara (AnnaSophia Robb) are forced to move in with James (Nick Stahl), a soft-spoken, good-hearted fellow in his 20s who is two months behind in his rent and who barely scrapes by on what he makes at his low-paying construction job. Soon, Joleen has split the scene, James has lost his job, and social services has taken Tara to live in a foster-care facility. So James and Tara decide to head out onto the open highway, stopping off at roadside diners and motels, and staying one step ahead of the authorities who are in pursuit of them.

"Sleepwalking" is one of those gritty, slice-of-life dramas that sympathetically and accurately depicts what life is like for the working poor. It is rife with authentic details and rich in small town atmosphere. Director William Mahr and cinematographer Juan Ruiz Anchia really know how to extract the essence of a locale for mood and effect, making the bleak landscape and stark setting integral elements in the drama - an effect greatly enhanced by Christopher Young's rich and evocative acoustic-flavored score. Superb, naturalistic performances by the three lead actors make us truly care about the people they are portraying and the things that are happening to them.

"Sleepwalking" is not without its flaws, however. For one thing, the movie undercuts some of its carefully crafted verisimilitude with its casting of "name" actors in a few of the key secondary roles - primarily, Woody Harrelson as James' friend and work buddy, and an over-reaching Dennis Hopper as Joleen and James' abusive dad. These parts would have been more effective had they been played by less-familiar actors (though I do realize that, without such star power attached to the project, a movie like "Sleepwalking" might never have gotten made in the first place). More seriously, the otherwise excellent screenplay by Zac Stanford falls apart a bit in the final third, resorting to stereotyping and hokey melodrama when it most needs to stay true to its characters and their situations.

Still, despite the patness, "Sleepwalking" is a quietly powerful, richly atmospheric tale of a group of troubled but essentially decent people struggling, despite their all-too-human weaknesses, to make their way in the world.

The director could not have picked better actors for this film than Nick Stahl and AnnaSophia Robb. Every movie that I have seen AnnaSophia act in, she has taken her role seriously, with the fullest extent of her acting ability, and to heart.

Nick plays the uncle, James, and AnnaSophia plays James' niece, Tara. The two are locked in position with their own dark pasts (Tara dealing with her mother's sudden disappearance after her mother had been unable to look after her due to her lifestyle, and James being the dark memories of his abusive father with him and his sister Joleen *Tara's Mother*).

Now, I am not going to get into detail on everything the movie is about, because I honestly think you really should see the film if you haven't already, and I am not going to spoil it. However, the movie takes you to the dark place (Dennis Hopper plays a dark, twisted, and excellent Role as the Father of James and Joleen). It takes you through the emotions of hitting rock bottom, a child's world upside down in the eyes of a 12 year old, a mother's struggle to hold on, and with no other alternative, a return trip to the farm of evil.

10/10 P.S.: When about to watch this film, remember the words of AnnaSophia Robb herself - "You've got to keep your mind wide open."

Sleepwalking is dealing with the trauma caused by bad parenting passed on from generation to generation and it does so in a very convincing and well crafted way. But be warned that some of the scenes are really hard to watch.

I thinks that actually everything in this movie works. It is a good script well directed. Charlize Theron is good, Hopper is outstanding. AnnaSophia Robb was 15 at the time and deservedly went on to do big things. But the true surprise is Nick Stahl. I have rarely seen him in anything and if I did he never caught my attention. Well he does here. His performance is so subtle. He is one of those actors who can show their emotion with just his eyes. He is outstanding in this movie. Go watch him and go watch this wonderful movie.

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".