Brilliant and touching

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Barry Levinson's Sleepers is a very good legal- crime dramatic feature film starring some great actors who get a change to truly shine through. The premise is that a group of 4 boys are sent to a detention center after committing a crime. Over there they are abused routinely until being let go. Deciding not to go vocal with their abuse, the boys go separate ways. Fast forward a decade and some and two of them kill one of the detention center guard after encountering him in a bar. They are convicted but with the help of the other two friends who are lawyers they are freed. The actors from Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman and Kevin bacon all give great performances in this Barry Levinson film.

Sleepers. WOW I can't believe I had missed this movie years ago! It boasts a fantastic cast, all delivering captivating performances. The story line grabbed me from the beginning and held my attention, often with my stomach in knots with dread and/or anticipation. A heart wrenching story of friendship and redemption that you won't soon forget.

Sometimes revenge is the only answerStarring Robert De Nero, Kevin Bacon, Brad Pitt and Dustin HoffmanBased on a book by Lorenzo CarcaterraDirected by and Screenplay by Barry LevinsonThis is another example of something that could have been so much better.I was sat watching this thinking to myself, ' I bet the book is better than this.'There are so many big names in this film and it even has a soundtrack by John Williams, it should have worked but it didn't. There is something that just doesn't work. It felt like the whole movie was crammed together and didn't have room to breathe. We don't get time to get our heads around the story or the individual characters, I spent most of the movie trying to work out which character was which. And just when I was starting to get a grip, we are shoved thirteen years into the future and have to try and work it all out again.Considering the star studded line up, for me it was Dustin Hoffman that came out on top even though he only played a small role. He played to alcohol lawyer with perfection, it's a pity we didn't see any stand out performances by any of the others. I don't know what went wrong. Maybe this movie would have been better served with a different production team or a different director.As for the story itself, it's allegedly based on a true story but that is another story.Watchable but frustratingly disappointing.7/10

performances. script. atmosphere. precise build of each part. a film about justice. and a story who use the references to Count of Monte Cristo as axis for a real gem. because , it could be perceived as version of Alexandre Dumas 's novel. same broken happiness. same cruel punishment. and the way to revenge. and the significant detail of few memorable scenes.a film who remains perfect. for the touching portrait of friendship. for the status of de Niro and Hoffman as pillars and for wise work of the young actors. de Niro does one of the most profound roles because his father Bobby is splendid definition of the Church's mission. a film about truth . dramatic, smart, beautiful in a special way.