Sleepers (1996)

NEUTRAL

Various

81%

1996, Drama, 2h 32m

RT Critics’ Score: 73% (UNBIASED)
RT Audience Score: 85%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
1 win & 5 nominations total

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Critics Consensus

Sleepers, a film that has been both praised and criticized for its portrayal of vigilante justice, is a complex and emotionally charged drama that explores the gray areas of morality. While some critics have taken issue with the film’s legal inaccuracies and sympathetic portrayal of wrongdoers, others have praised its impeccable structure, realist cinematography, and top-notch acting talent. Director Barry Levinson is a skilled craftsman who knows how to keep audiences engaged, even as he delves into the darkest depths of human depravity. Ultimately, Sleepers is a haunting and deeply emotional film that will leave viewers pondering the nature of justice and the lengths to which people will go to reclaim their lost dignity.

Audience Consensus

Sleepers is a movie that’s been around for a while, but it’s still worth watching if you’re in the mood for a dark and intense thriller. Critics have mixed opinions, but let’s be real, they’re always so serious. The movie has a great cast, including Brad Pitt and Robert De Niro, and the story is gripping. Just be warned, it’s not a feel-good movie, so maybe save it for a night when you’re feeling a little more emotionally stable. Overall, Sleepers is a solid choice if you’re looking for a movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Storyline

As children, Lorenzo Carcaterra – Shakes to his friends – Michael Sullivan, Tommy Marcano, and John Reilly were inseparable. They grew up in Hell’s Kitchen, a far from perfect neighborhood, one filled as Shakes says with scams and shake downs, but one where the rules were known and easily understood by its residents. The one adult who they admired was Father Bobby Carelli, who understood them as kids more than most adults and more than he himself would like to admit. In 1967, their lives would change forever when a typical teenage prank went wrong which led to the four of them being sentenced to various terms at Wilkinson Home for Boys, a reformatory. There, they were physically, emotionally and sexually abused primarily by Sean Nokes, the predatory lead guard of their cell block, and fellow guards Ralph Ferguson, Henry Addison, and Adam Styler, although there were other decent figures of authority at the home, including a few other guards. Their time at the home affected the four, not all who were able to emerge from the experience to regroup their lives. In their want to forget about the experience, they made a vow not to talk about it either between themselves or with others. Fast forward thirteen years, with Tommy and Johnny being career criminals, Michael an assistant district attorney and Shakes a newspaper writer, their friendship on the surface more loose than it was when they were children. When Tommy and John unexpectedly spot Nokes at a local restaurant, it leads to Shakes and Michael banding together to exact revenge not only on Nokes but all four of the guards who abused them. Michael had long mapped out a plan even before Tommy and John saw Nokes, but that sighting and its aftermath alters the plan. Beyond the precarious position Tommy and John place themselves into, Michael has the most to lose even if the plan succeeds. Most of the plan implementation is left to Shakes who has to enlist the machine of Hell’s Kitchen, including mob boss King Benny, and their childhood friend, social worker Carol Martinez, who currently is John’s girlfriend. Beyond co-opting aging lawyer Danny Snyder, who admits he may not be the best choice as an alcoholic who is no longer near the top of his game, the plan is threatened by a key piece, the need for an unreproachable figure to perjure him or herself, that person who Michael and Shakes hopes will be Father Bobby. Father Bobby, even if he knew of the abuse, may not be able to do his friends this enormous favor of an illegal nature, he who has to balance the morality of the situation in his own mind in deciding what to do.

Production Company(ies)
Sidus C J Entertainment, Muhan Investment

Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures

Release Type

Filming Location(s)
Fairfield Hills Hospital – Mile Hill Rd., Newtown, Connecticut, USA

MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language, graphic violence and two scenes of strong sexual content

Year of Release
1996

Technical Specs

Color:

Color
Sound mix:

Dolby Digital
Aspect ratio:

2.35 : 1
Runtime:

2h 32m
Language(s):

English
Country of origin:

United States
Release date:

Release Date (Theaters): Oct 18, 1996 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 3, 2009

Genre(s)
Drama

Keyword(s)
Sleepers, R, Drama, 2h 32m, directed by Barry Levinson, written by Lorenzo Carcaterra and Barry Levinson, produced by Steve Golin and Barry Levinson, starring Kevin Bacon, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Patric, Brad Pitt, Minnie Driver, box office gross of $53.3M, Dolby SR, Dolby A, DTS, Surround, Dolby Digital sound mix, Scope (2.35:1) aspect ratio, based on a controversial novel by Lorenzo Carcaterra, four teenage friends from Hell’s Kitchen, sent to reform school after almost killing a man, brutalized by the guards, grow up to be hit men who recognize their abuser years later and kill him, their trial is prosecuted by another member of their gang, who is now the assistant DA, rated R for Language, Graphic Violence, Strong Sexual Content, drama, Warner Bros Pictures distributor

Box Office Details

Worldwide gross: $165,615,285
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $316,117,431
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 476
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 34,473,002

US/Canada gross: $53,315,285
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $101,765,311
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 740
US/Canada opening weekend: $12,305,745
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $23,488,535
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 573

Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $44,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $83,984,802
Production budget ranking: 498
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $45,225,816
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $186,906,813
ROI to date (est.): 145%
ROI ranking: 782

Cast & Crew

Rob Reiner

Michael McKean

Christopher Guest

Harry Shearer

R.J. Parnell

Marty DiBergi

David St. Hubbins

Nigel Tufnel

Derek Smalls

Mick Shrimpton

Rob Reiner – Marty DiBergi
Michael McKean – David St. Hubbins (Lead Guitar, Vocals)
Christopher Guest – Nigel Tufnel (Lead Guitar, vocals)
Harry Shearer – Derek Smalls (Bass, vocals)
R.J. Parnell – Mick Shrimpton (Drummer)
David Kaff – Viv Savage (Keyboards, vocals)

Barry Levinson

Lorenzo Carcaterra

Steve Golin

Barry Levinson

Director

Writer

Producer

Director(s)
Barry Levinson

Writer(s)
Lorenzo Carcaterra, Barry Levinson

Producer(s)
Steve Golin, Barry Levinson

Film Festivals

Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
1 win & 5 nominations total

Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Owen Gleiberman

David Ansen

Richard Schickel

David Stratton

Derek Adams

Entertainment Weekly

Newsweek

TIME Magazine

Variety

Time Out

SLEEPERS
All Critics (56) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (41) | Rotten (15)
September 7, 2011 | Rating: C

Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
The problems start with Levinson’s script, which overemploys Patric’s florid narration to tell you what you’re about to see, what it means and how you should feel about it.

July 6, 2010

David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
It is all legally preposterous. But Levinson is a slick craftsman, his actors are insinuatingly real, and cinematographer Michael Ballhaus casts a disarmingly believable light on these proceedings.

August 14, 2009

Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
If audiences aren’t bothered by this disturbing subtext, there’s a lot to enjoy in this impeccably structured, handsomely produced saga.

June 24, 2008

David Stratton
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Levinson has done nothing to sift the half-truths from the melodrama…

February 9, 2006

Derek Adams
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
At times the images are agonizing to behold, men in their most desperate, hateful depths preying on children. The film, exceptional on many counts, ultimately is sad in a hopeless, haunting way.

June 18, 2002 | Rating: 3/4

Peter Stack
San Francisco Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
Levinson knows how to make a movie. He keeps it compelling throughout, and although it runs 2 1/2 hours, Sleepers offers no room for catnaps.

October 16, 2019

Brian D. Johnson
Maclean’s Magazine
It plays out as a stylish and lurid amoral vigilante thriller, one that never earns the viewer’s confidence that this is the real thing.

April 27, 2015 | Rating: B-

Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
Views the gray tones of good and evil and what lengths people are willing to go through to re-claim the dignity they lost as children.

November 13, 2013

Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
…it’s more than a bit disconcerting to see how the narrative makes serious wrongdoers sympathetic. Therefore, a qualified success.

August 16, 2011 | Rating: 6/10

John J. Puccio
Movie Metropolis
Despite it all, just try to take your eyes off this movie: skillfully crafted by Levinson, Sleepers is eminently watchable, deeply emotional, and populated with top acting talent. [Blu-ray]

August 2, 2011 | Rating: 2.5/4

Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews
Powerful story of child abuse. Not for kids.

January 1, 2011 | Rating: 4/5

Carly Kocurek
Common Sense Media…

Plot
As children, Lorenzo Carcaterra – Shakes to his friends – Michael Sullivan, Tommy Marcano, and John Reilly were inseparable. They grew up in Hell’s Kitchen, a far from perfect neighborhood, one filled as Shakes says with scams and shake downs, but one where the rules were known and easily understood by its residents. The one adult who they admired was Father Bobby Carelli, who understood them as kids more than most adults and more than he himself would like to admit. In 1967, their lives would change forever when a typical teenage prank went wrong which led to the four of them being sentenced to various terms at Wilkinson Home for Boys, a reformatory. There, they were physically, emotionally and sexually abused primarily by Sean Nokes, the predatory lead guard of their cell block, and fellow guards Ralph Ferguson, Henry Addison, and Adam Styler, although there were other decent figures of authority at the home, including a few other guards. Their time at the home affected the four, not all who were able to emerge from the experience to regroup their lives. In their want to forget about the experience, they made a vow not to talk about it either between themselves or with others. Fast forward thirteen years, with Tommy and Johnny being career criminals, Michael an assistant district attorney and Shakes a newspaper writer, their friendship on the surface more loose than it was when they were children. When Tommy and John unexpectedly spot Nokes at a local restaurant, it leads to Shakes and Michael banding together to exact revenge not only on Nokes but all four of the guards who abused them. Michael had long mapped out a plan even before Tommy and John saw Nokes, but that sighting and its aftermath alters the plan. Beyond the precarious position Tommy and John place themselves into, Michael has the most to lose even if the plan succeeds. Most of the plan implementation is left to Shakes who has to enlist the machine of Hell’s Kitchen, including mob boss King Benny, and their childhood friend, social worker Carol Martinez, who currently is John’s girlfriend. Beyond co-opting aging lawyer Danny Snyder, who admits he may not be the best choice as an alcoholic who is no longer near the top of his game, the plan is threatened by a key piece, the need for an unreproachable figure to perjure him or herself, that person who Michael and Shakes hopes will be Father Bobby. Father Bobby, even if he knew of the abuse, may not be able to do his friends this enormous favor of an illegal nature, he who has to balance the morality of the situation in his own mind in deciding what to do.

Trivia