Themes: Righting the Wronged, Haunted By the Past, Inner City Blues
Main Cast: Kevin Bacon, Robert De Niro, Billy Crudup, Dustin Hoffman, Bruno Kirby, Jason Patric, Vittorio Gassman, Brad Pitt
Release Year: 1996
Country: US
Run Time: 152 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Barry Levinson directed this crime drama based on a controversial bestseller. Jason Patrick stars as Lorenzo, a New York reporter more commonly called "Shakes," a nickname courtesy of his three childhood pals from Hell's Kitchen -- Michael (Brad Pitt), John (Ron Eldard), and Tommy (Billy Crudup). As kids, all four were sent to reform school after accidentally killing someone during a cruel prank. There, the boys were raped and beaten by several guards, including Sean Nokes (Kevin Bacon), a fact that they've kept secret into adulthood. Michael is now a rising star in the district attorney's office, while John and Tommy are founders of the Irish gang the Westies. When Nokes walks into John and Tommy's hangout, they kill him in cold blood and go on trial, defended by a drug-addicted lawyer (Dustin Hoffman). Michael and Shakes conspire with childhood friend Carol (Minnie Driver) and local priest Father Bobby (Robert DeNiro) to free their friends and get even with the surviving guards. Based on a true story chronicled by Lorenzo Carcaterra in his novel of the same name, Sleepers stirred controversy when the veracity of the book was challenged by reporters who could find no documentation of the events described. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Review
Barry Levinson's Sleepers courted controversy for a number of reasons. Not only was there uncertainty as to whether the purportedly true story really happened, but the Catholic Church also frowned upon one of its major plot points: a priest's struggle over whether or not to lie under oath to protect a pair of vigilantes who have clearly committed murder. If these issues prompted more people to see the film, that's just as well, because it contains some interesting elements beyond those listed above. One is that it convincingly details the struggle of a prosecutor (Brad Pitt) to intentionally botch his case, but subtly enough that it doesn't draw suspicion. Never mind that Levinson doesn't explain why no one makes the connection between Pitt and the two defendants (Ron Eldard and Billy Crudup), who were his childhood friends -- the courtroom scenes are deft enough to excuse the plot hole. Levinson returns to familiar territory in the film's earlier scenes, giving an assured portrait of life in big city ethnic neighborhoods in the 1960s. New York stands in for his native Baltimore, where many Levinson films are set, but the same issues of coming of age in an insular working-class community are explored. There are no outstanding performances, outside of Robert De Niro as the conflicted priest, but the all-star ensemble makes for a solid piece of entertainment with serious issues, some of them more familiar than others, at its core. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Lorenzo "Shakes" Carcaterra, Thomas "Tommy" Marcano, Michael Sullivan and John Reilly are four childhood friends (played by Joseph Perrino, Jonathan Tucker, Brad Renfro and Geoffrey Wigdor respectively) who grow up in Hell's Kitchen, New York City in the mid-1960s. During this time, the local priest (Robert De Niro) plays a very important part in their lives and keeps an eye on them. However, early on they start running small errands for a local gangster, King Benny (Vittorio Gassman). Who later turns out to be a very important contact.
On a summers day in 1967, their lives take a sharp turn when they almost kill a man after pulling a prank on a hot dog vendor. As a punishment they are all four sentenced to serve time at the Wilkinson Home for Boys in upstate New York. There, the boys are systematically beaten, abused and raped by guards Sean Nokes, Henry Addison, Adam Styler and Ralph Ferguson (played by Kevin Bacon, Jeffrey Donovan, Lennie Loftin and Terry Kinney respectively). These traumatic events change the boys and their friendship forever.
More than 10 years later, John and Tommy (as adults, played by Ron Eldard and Billy Crudup), now gangsters, come across Sean Nokes in a pub in Hell's Kitchen. After making sure that Nokes knows who they are, they both shoot and kill Nokes. Mike, as adult played by Brad Pitt, now an assistant District Attorney, arranges to be assigned to the case, secretly intending to lose it as a means of getting revenge. Moreover, he and Shakes, as adult played by Jason Patric, begin to forge a plan to get their revenge on all the responsible guards. Together with many of their lifelong friends, especially Carol, a social worker played by Minnie Driver and King Benny, they manage to collect information on all the Wilkinson guards.
However, to clinch the case they need a key witness who can give John and Tommy an alibi. After a long talk with Father Bobby, including telling him about the awful events at Wilkinson, he agrees to lie on the stand about where John and Tommy were on the night of the shooting; the priest swears under oath that they were with him at Madison Square Garden at a Knicks basketball game. As a result, they are found not guilty.
Authenticity
The version of the film shown on television and DVD, although uncut, contains disclaimers before the end credits stating that the New York youth correctional authorities and the Manhattan District Attorney's office deny that the events in the film took place. A final title card states that Carcaterra stands by his story.
