Sleepwalking (2008)

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

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.

The movie have great performances(the best is Anna Sophia Robb) and it is a little movie, but the history is poor and the cast have almost nothing to do on the scenes. Charlize performance is nice and she is a great actress. Nick Stahl is not one actor that i love to see, but he is a very good actor. But Anna Sophia Robb is brilliant, she is the best of the movie, with no doubts and she can do all the type of movies and still be great. But the only missing part of the movie is basically the most important: the history. Is so nice to watch a beautiful drama and get touched by the history, but the history is not so great.Isn't bad, but could be very better.....

I'll give you two: AnnaSophia "Bridge to Terabithia" Robb and Nick "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" Stahl. Their performances in this fledgling directorial effort from Bill "The Chumscrubber" Maher are simply outstandingly well-crafted realizations, assisted by other fine showings from the likes of Charlize "The Devil's Advocate" Theron, Dennis "Easy Rider" Hopper, Woody "Cheers" Harrelson, and Deborra-Lee "Hugh Jackman is one lucky wolverine!" Furness. Zac "The Chumscrubber" Stanford's script gives them everything they need to create a lasting relationship in an impermanent world, drawing the audience deep into their dysfunctional tragedy. Anyone who appreciates intelligent storytelling and great acting should be pleased.Essentially a coming-of-age movie (and not just the youngster), "Sleepwalking" follows the odyssey of a man and his niece. It's a fine character-driven piece, thanks to great work from its leads, dialog with a resonance of truth, and excellent DP work from Juan Ruiz "Glengarry Glen Ross" Anchía. It's a shame that so few IMDbers have seen this one, but it's their loss. Sure, it's not targeted to the twenty-something crowd. Sure, the explosions and other eye-candy are lacking, but you know, kiddies, sometimes you just have to grit your teeth and try something outside your normal purview. You might just find out that you've been denying yourself a lot of interesting entertainment.Btw, those who might complain about the unlikelihood of James seeking out his father (in light of what we learn about them both) should have paid closer attention to the dialog, and to the relationship between James and his sister, for some subtle hints. Sometimes one cannot escape one's oppression with mere physical distance.

May induce sleeping, I don't know about sleepwalking. I doubt in cause when I woke from drifting off I was still in the same chair and unfortunately still watching this movie. It goes from dry, depressing, dark and pointless to even more of the same. The acting is not very good, which is an insult to Denise Hoper, Woody Harrelson and especially Charlize Theron, I expect way more from an Academy Award winning actress. It cannot all be blamed on her performance but I ask myself, why aren't Academy Award winners more picky about the movies they choose post winning. This film is another example of a trailer being better then the movie, just by watching the trailer and having this cast, most directors could make a better movie. I'm honestly trying to think of a positive but I'm just coming up empty. I mentioned in my review for The Love Guru about bias towards comedies and that they automatically get a lower ratting because they are comedies. I feel this is sometimes the same way with dramas, sometimes they really do suck, but because they deal with emotions and imitate real life situations they automatically get a higher ratting then they deserve.