SLEEPERS

(October 1996, U.S.)

I know that director Barry Levinson hasn't exactly disappeared, but every once in a while, I ask myself, "What ever happened to Barry Levinson?" Perhaps this is because I've never forgotten his "golden age" period of the 80s and 90s when he was churning out hit movie after hit movie, beginning with DINER in 1982. It seems that after SLEEPERS in 1996, his films took a down turn into the ordinary and the easily forgotten (though I personally enjoyed SPHERE in 1998). If, indeed, SLEEPERS may be considered Levinson's last major Hollywood hit, then I suppose we can argue he went out with a real bang.

Based on the novel by Lorenzo Carcaterra, published only one year before the film, it's a story straight out of Hell's Kitchen, which is where the author was born. SLEEPERS tells the story of four boyhood friends (Lorenzo, Tommy, Michael and John) raised in Hell's Kitchen during the mid-1960s. The neighborhood priest, Father Bobby Carillo (played by Robert DeNiro) is not only a father figure to these boys, but is also dedicated to keeping them out of trouble, even when they start running errands for the neighborhood gangster, King Benny. But these boys are destined for trouble, and it's a stupid prank that drastically changes their lives forever on an ordinary summer day in 1967. After stealing a hot dog vendor's cart as a joke, they lose control of it at the top of the subway stairs and it critically injures an innocent man. As punishment, the four of them are sentenced to the Wilkinson Home for boys. It's there that they're repeatedly abused and raped by four of the guards, led by Sean Nokes (played by Kevin Bacon). This horror alters the boys and their friendship forever. Realizing that no one would likely believe their accusations against the guards, they vow never to speak of their experience once they're released.

The film then jumps to the year 1981. Tommy and John are career criminals, and it's by sheer chance they encounter Sean Nokes at a Hell's Kitchen pub. After a few words, in which Nokes shows no remorse for what he did to them as boys, they shoot their former rapist several times in front of witnesses. Michael, now an assistant district attorney, jumps at the chance to prosecute his two old friends, but not to win. It's here that a plan and strategy of revenge is set in motion by he and Lorenzo that will not only exonerate their two old friends for a crime they did commit, but will also bring down the other three guards who took part in the abuse. With the help of King Benny, they also hire a hopelessly-incompetent lawyer Danny Snyder (played by Dustin Hoffman) to defend Tommy and John to make it appear as if their situation is hopeless. Their plan will succeed if the two gunmen can be placed somewhere else at the time of the shooting. To pull that off, they implore Father Bobby to not only help them, but to lie for them, too. Here lies the moral dilemma for the good priest, though upon hearing what actually happened to the four boys at Wilkinson, he surprises everyone by not only lying on the stand, but also producing ticket stubs to prove that Tommy and John were with him at a Knicks game the night of the murder. Exonerated, the old friends are reunited in celebration, but probably for one of the few remaining times in their lives, as Tommy and John's lives in crime are destined to bring their deaths at an early age. It does.

SLEEPERS is one of the most complex stories I've ever had to contend with. One the one hand, it's a horrifying tale of the monstrous cruelty that exists by inhuman men against defenseless boys who have made a bad mistake in their lives. On the other hand, there's something inspiring about the friendship of these four boys that carries over into their manhood. Regardless of their motives of crime and revenge, there's a strong sense of loyalty and honor among men who have spent much of their lives just trying to survive not only what happened to them as boys, but also how it's carried over into their adulthood. Brad Pitt as the adult Michael is unable to emotionally commit himself to a meaningful relationship with Carol (played by Minnie Driver), a girl also from the neighborhood, because of the abuse he endured as a boy. Even though we know Father Bobby has purged himself on the witness stand, we admire and praise his devotion to the boys he's helped to raise. We also admire the "code" of the neighborhood in Hell's Kitchen where everybody seemingly looks out for each other, particularly during the rough times. DeNiro, Pitt and Jason Patric give outstanding performances, as if completely embracing the city street background they're supposed to have originated from. Frankly, a man like Martin Scorsese couldn't have made a film of this sort any better.

Cheers, Barry! May you one day return to spectacular form before it's too late!

Favorite line or dialogue:

Father Bobby: "I'm telling you as a witness, and as a priest. We were at the game."
Michael Sullivan: "Yes, as a priest, and a priest wouldn't lie? Am I right?"
Father Bobby: "A priest with ticket stubs wouldn't need to lie. I always keep the stubs. Do you want to see them?"
Michael: "Why is that, Father? Why do you keep the stubs?"
Father Bobby: "Because you never know when someone might want more than your word."