Powerful

Good concept, poorly executed.

A Major Disappointment

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

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.

This movie is what most of the reviews say it is; the story of three boys spending a summer on the shores of Lake Superior during a critical time in their development. The movie could have been set anywhere, we have seen the story before with different actors and different circumstances but the same ending- confusion, love, friendship and betrayal-culminating in tragedy. And in my opinion this movie did have an ending (contrary to what one reviewer states). There was no more to tell; in fact, to have the characters do or say more would have weakened the message. This is an "Art" film. The reviewer who gave one star points that out and then goes on to also underscore his/her lack of appreciation for art, instead making sure we know that the reviewer has a bad knee, pointing out the actors' need for dental work rather than the wonderful subtleties of the filming and acting. That the events of this particular story - teenage angst, boredom, insecurity, relationships, drugs/alcohol, stealing, destructive behaviour and foul/disrespectful language - unfold in a landscape full of nature's gifts makes it all the more poignant. The seemingly slow story is full of signs, symbols, foreshadowing and prophetic fallacy. The beetles, the dead bird, the fireworks, all play a part in telling the story by showing us the state of mind of the three boys. A lot of what they do is common among teenagers but this movie, for me, shows in broad strokes the problems inherent with stereotypes and judging by those stereotypes. The one boy that is portrayed as having perhaps the best character is guilty of something he cannot undo and cannot take back that had horrific consequences. And the boy portrayed as a "bad seed" with no future is the one who in reality shows us his humanity and acts upon the values of truth and honesty. The third boy, seemingly neither bad nor good, just goes along with the people around him and never takes a moral stance. I really enjoyed this film and suggest that you don't go into it looking for its faults but instead enjoy the subtleties and painful truths it has to offer.

"Sleeping Giant" is a low-key Canadian film that builds to an explosive climax; even if sensitive coming of age stories tend to give you the indie fidgets, I'd still recommend this one. It does start out slowly, with improv'd ensemble scenes (quite convincing), standard montages of teenagers doing carefree teenage stuff and gorgeous shots of the Lake Superior shoreline. The POV character, Adam, is too shy and passive to generate much storyline on his own—how many kids like that grow up make indie films?, I wonder—though the shaky family dynamic is laid out very nicely: A scene where Adam's well intentioned but clumsy dad urges him to start something with his childhood friend, Taylor—now a lovely young woman who's caught the eye of one of Adam's bad-boy cousins—signals clearly that Dad may be up to something himself… These and a few more wispy, unresolved subplots don't build up much momentum till the final scenes, beginning with a teenage tantrum that busts up a family Monopoly game… (I know, pretty Canadian, eh?) Great performances by the teenage principals, esp. first-time actor Nick Serino as another bad-boy cousin, Nate, the tantrum thrower. Not essential, but still quite watchable and available on streaming Netflix—otherwise how would we ever get to see it?

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.