Sleeping Giant

Sleeping Giant is a hidden gem of a film, but its gift can only be experienced when you abandon commercial expectations and allow the film the requisite amount of time needed to transport you from a pre- conditioned cinematic abyss to an authentic time and place. Emotions penetrate through the barriers of the screen, capturing the viewer with both the acting and directing.

I enjoyed it. Well done.

Rating: 8/10

This movies isn't so much a "coming of age" story as it is a glimpse into the cause and effect of various character's actions and emotions.

The movie is filmed beautifully. Something about the way it was filmed almost felt voyeur-like. It's a slow telling -- people looking for action, adventure or intense drama aren't going to enjoy it. For the most part, the teens convey a believable apathy, and the angst that is presumably just under the surface stays there under a veil of boredom and is just alluded to by the cinematography.

The teen characters are solid. They perfectly embody the flippant and nonchalant attitude of that age group. Their conversations and interactions were natural, and thankfully, none of them were precocious, precious or inherently bad.

All in all, it was a very languid telling of minor actions and their major consequences.

I had very little trouble getting caught up in what I was watching, which can be a problem for me sometimes. The dialogue was not riveting but it also wasn't phony. This is a problem with many films about youth. They are written with adult dialogue. I was also very impressed with the way the characters were conceptualized and portrayed. They was nothing cliché about who these 3 boys were.

The acting was just okay...it was easy to see that the cast was inexperienced but it didn't really bother me.

I didn't like was the lighting or the shaky camera work...a clear sign of a low budget.

I thought the ending was weird and weak. Both the scenes that involved the fish market woman were terrible and should have just been cut from the film. Especially the unexpected scene at the end. It was hard to believe that this would ever happen or play out the way it did.

Over all it was a good flick and worth my time.

I didn't expect much from this film. It didn't look bad, but I just thought maybe it'd end up being a forgettable independent coming-of-age film. Luckily, I found it to be a lot better than that. I thought the acting was a bit inconsistent overall (the lead male being the best actor of the boys), but the sensitive, nuanced direction and screenplay helped the film become something actually special. It's a film that is willing to contemplate ideas that do weigh a lot, but I bet a lot of people the same age as these characters might actually relate. I don't think it's a great, original film, but definitely well-executed for the most part.

During the summer in a resort area on the northern Ontario shore of Lake Superior, three boys in their early teens hang out together. They include Adam, a quiet boy from a well-off family; Riley a tough boy who lives in a modest home with his grandmother; and Nate, Riley's equally tough cousin who is staying with Riley and their grandmother during the summer.

Knowing that this was yet another boys-coming-of-age movies, my first reaction was "Good God, not ANOTHER one"! But there are some films in this category that stand out among the (seemingly) thousands of others. "Sleeping Giant" is one of them. For one thing, Adam does not go along with the hyper-macho talk of the other boys or the milder macho talk coming from his father. There are more than a few hints that Adam might be gay.

The first half is rather difficult. Nate is so viciously mean-spirited and bullying that the viewer can feel dragged through an endurance test. This is partly because of the accuracy of the portrayal of teenaged bullies. While it is more than tempting to wish Nate harm due to his meanness, these feelings change in the second half when major dramatic turns take place.

Feelings come to the surface during a board-game. This sequence is powerful for many reasons. One is that it is so true-to-life with one character acting as an inconsistent rule enforcer.

The drama that follows is compelling and moving thus making the tough slogging of the first half well worth the experience. There are other fine characterizations as well including Adam's father who is trying to be a father while also trying to appear "cool" to the teenagers. - dbamateurcritic.