
The rape of innocence leaves a scar that is hard to eliminate. ‘Sleepers’ is a film that shows how four young boys who were sexually abused in their juvenile correction facility try and come to terms with what happened by killing the abusive guard 14 years later and then trying to get away in a court of law.
Based on Lorenzo Carcaterra’s book, the plot revolves around four young boys from Hell’s Kitchen, New York who accidently almost fatally wound a man, while playing a prank with a Hot Dog vendor’s cart. They are sent to the Wilkinson’s correction facility for boys and undergo rape and physical abuse by the guards. They suffer the indignity and swear not to speak about it to anyone. Two of the boys grow up to become a part of the local mafia and 14 years later, discover one of the guards in the bar. They shoot and kill him and are arrested. The other two boys, one of who is a public prosecutor and the other a journalist hatch a plan to bring to light what happened to them 14 years ago in court, during the murder trial and also get the defendants out.
The intelligence of the plot strikes you. While the murder is understandable, the manner in which the friends get control over both the prosecution and defence in order to hoodwink the jury is a unique payback scheme. The scenes of abuse are shot for impact without graphic detail but serve to let the viewer in on the gruesome experience. The courtroom scenes and the background work are handled deftly. There is an understated tragic air to the proceedings because the four young men have never gotten over what happened to them even though they have moved ahead in life. Barry Levinson’s direction of an ensemble cast is first rate.
The cast, led by Robert DeNiro, Dustin Hoffman, Brad Pitt, Minnie Driver, Jason Patric and Billy Krudup is a superb ensemble. While Jason Patric as the journalist and narrator is quite luke warm, Brad Pitt as the lawyer and Dustin Hoffman as the washed up, planted defence attorney liven things up. Robert DeNiro as the preacher who looks over the boys is passable in a side-role that has an important part in the climax.
‘Sleepers’ is revenge with intelligence.