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35 utilisateurs sur 45 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
Coming-of-Age Story With a Twist, 15 mars 2008

Auteur : nevadaluke de Etats-Unis

One night, Joleen Reedy's boyfriend is arrested in a drug raid, so she and her 12-year-old daughter Tara move in with her somewhat slow-witted brother, James.

Soon, Joleen follows her heart down the highway with a long-distance trucker, and when James loses his job and Tara starts missing school, it's not long before Child Protective Services shows up and Tara goes off to a group foster home.

This is a movie about coming of age. And, as the story develops in Act II, we have every right to believe this is Tara's story. She talks her uncle James into learning to drive, pushes him into searching for Joleen, and finally convinces him to help her take a hiatus from the group home. And so they hit the road. Along the way, they stop at a motel where she wakes up one night bathed symbolically in red light, and the next morning at poolside, she's squirming seductively for the benefit of a pair of adolescent boys who watch in fascination.

Eventually, their journey takes them to James' boyhood home, the ranch to which Joleen said she would not return in a million years. Why did she say that? The answer comes when James and Tara experience profound abuse from his father, a tough old rancher played by Dennis Hopper.

This is when the viewers will realize that this is James' story, because he does what he must to vindicate what must have been the horrific upbringing he and his sister endured.

"Sleepwalking" is put over with excellent performances, notably Nick Stahl's James, who grows into a man able to rise to the occasion when it's time to carve out a destiny from the wreckage of his past. Charlize Theron convincingly inhabits another fascinating character from the seamy side, showing glowing embers of yearning that burst into passion. And Hopper chews scenery entertainingly as the abusive rancher. The supporting cast is uniformly strong.

But the star of this show is AnnaSophia Robb, who makes Tara a child who realizes she needs to shed any air of fragility to press on with the quest to reunite with her mother. Driving past a message board flashing an Amber Alert with her name on it only steels Tara's determination to succeed.

This is an excellent example of a script that turns into an independent film that draws an excellent cast and, when it hits the screen, does a good job of telling a good story and telling it well.

It should also be noted that AnnaSophia Robb is growing to be an actress not only of exceptional skill, but of extraordinary beauty.

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22 utilisateurs sur 23 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
You woke me up, 26 juin 2008

Auteur : kaitlynn lane de Etats-Unis

The pacing of this movie is a little slow. There were times when i almost gave up on it, and wanted to stop watching it, but didn't. I am glad i finished this movie because there is something so honest, and pure about the subject matter.

What's great about this movie is it's not flashy like people think movies need to be. It is not over the top, not glamorous. This movie is striped to the bare essence of what it takes to make a good film or better, great acting, and a genuine story line.

The movie has a slow start, but a rapid ending that leaves you wanting more. The characters are really well developed. I feel a close connection to all of them. I feel like they are real people, and that's unusual to feel when watching a movie.

It's a movie about choices, about how one moment can change your life. The decisions we make are not always right, most of them are made on impulse, but we still have to deal with the aftermath, and learn a lesson along the way.

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19 utilisateurs sur 22 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
Life drama about relationship between 12 year old girl and her uncle, 2 juillet 2008

Auteur : Davor Trcovic de Croatie

I watched this movie today and I must say that it was absolutely amazing. It is drama by genre but most of the time this kind of movies are much better than we thought. With four amazing main actors this movie couldn't fail although only two actors, AnnaSophia Robb and Nick Stahl are keeping this movie so good. After Tara's (Robb) mother Joleen (Charlize Theron) leave's her with her uncle James (Nick Stahl) their lives are start to fall down. James gets fired from his job and social service takes Tara to foster home. One day James comes to visit Tara and by her request they leave the city by car in unknown direction. On they trip they would get more closer, and some events will open their eyes from a long dream. Nick Stahl is great as James. His character's childhood was abuse by his father as his sister Joleen. Charlize Theron is solid, but real star of this movie is AnnaSophia Robb. She has only 14 years old and already playing complex roles like this one. She is going in the right way by now.

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23 utilisateurs sur 36 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
Scottsdale, AZ Pre-Screening: 3/11/08, 12 mars 2008

Auteur : LayerCake de Etats-Unis

Bill Maher's directorial debut 'Sleepwalking' follows a 12 year old Tara (AnnaSophia Robb) as tries to come to terms with her mother Jolene's (Charlize Theron) recent abandonment. In the process we're introduced to James (Nick Stahl) Tara's uncle and Jolene's brother. In the process Jolene and Tara wind up staying with James (a stunning Nick Stahl), Jolene's brother and Tara's uncle. Jolene one day disappears, she sends a letter saying that she has a plan and she'll be back in a month for Tara's birthday. Tara doesn't take this lightly; James however sees this as an opportunity to do some good, the pair then sets off on a departure from their everyday lives. Events unfold and Tara and James drive to James' father's farm expecting it to be a safe haven for themselves. Mr. Reedy (Dennis Hopper) is James' dad. When they finally arrive to the farm it turns out to be a hellish location set specifically for the all too predictable climax.

Sleepwalking has terrible camera work. It's one of the main problems with it. Its shot like a sappy Lifetime movie, close-up after close-up in the film's most pivotal scenes tires the audience. Another one of the problems is the quantity of unnecessary dialog and scenes that the film subjects the viewers to. Does the viewer really care that much about Jolene's ex boyfriend's nickname? No, they care about the plot and it moving on solidly.

The main highlight is Nick Stahl as James. He makes you feel for his character in ways I've never felt for a character before. He is simple minded and very caring, but those traits make it so that he never comes out on top. He led a very simple life as well before Tara came into his life for such a long period of time. How she transforms his character is interesting and Stahl displays it all. AnnaSophia Robb is also great as the young vixen who we watch. She shows again that she has a great potential for more serious and dramatic work in the years to come. In one of the film's best scenes she glides around skates, smoking cigarette acting reminiscent of Heather Graham's infamous Roller Girl. The boys all gawk as she smoothly moves around the pull, acting out of her age range and becoming more mature with each puff we understand that her character is perhaps doomed to end up like her mother. There is hope that she won't though hidden deep in James, just like her mother she just wants someone to show her that they love and care for her.

The film's two most prolific actors, legendary Dennis Hopper and the incomparable Charlize Theron disappoint a bit in their roles. Hopper's character is dry and bitter, Hopper plays him right but the overall deliver is still short of what it could be. Theron not only acted but also played producer to the film, however I think she should have stayed in the producer's chair for this one. Her character is a supporting one and she plays her right but you feel unsatisfied by her performance because there's not that much there.

Overall, Sleepwalking as a very bland film that could've much more if it had stayed more focused and less cliché at parts. Although, after the sleepwalk you'll remember it as a decent dream.

MY RATING: 6.0/10.0

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10 utilisateurs sur 11 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
about as depressing as can be, 1 septembre 2008

Auteur : Lee Eisenberg (eisenberg.lee@gmail.com) de Portland, Oregon, USA

My interpretation of "Sleepwalking" as extremely depressing may spring from the fact that I knew nothing about it when I started watching it. Charlize Theron plays down-and-out Jolene, who dumps her daughter Tara (AnnaSophia Robb) on her brother James (Nick Stahl) and disappears. James now has to reconsider how he has lived his whole life.

The wintry setting in this movie has the same effect as the setting in "Affliction": as bleak as can be...especially after what ends up happening after James and Tara go on the road. Definitely not a film that will leave you feeling good. Not to demean the movie at all; I do recommend it. You just have to understand that this is a VERY depressing one, exactly the sort of movie to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. I don't know whether or not you'll like it, but I still encourage you to at least check it out. Also starring Dennis Hopper, Woody Harrelson and Mathew St. Patrick (who played Keith on "Six Feet Under"). I assume that director William Maher is not the same as Bill Maher of "Real Time with Bill Maher".

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6 utilisateurs sur 8 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
The Numb Life of Sleepwalking, 10 juillet 2008

Auteur : gradyharp de Etats-Unis

New director William Maher and writer Zac Stanford previously worked together in THE CHUMSCRUBBER and the similarity of vision is apparent in SLEEPWALKING: both films deal with the empty shells of hollow people aimlessly seeking connection in a world that has become foreign territory. It is a dark, cold, brooding film that somehow manages to maintain our attention with the hope that the gloomy tunnel though which the characters are passing will have a semblance of light at the end.

Joleen (Charlize Theron) is the inadequate, loving-but-inconstant mother of twelve-year-old Tara (AnnaSophia Robb) whose reckless an aimless life leads to constant moving and lack of roots. Evicted form her latest residence Joleen and Tara move in with Joleen's younger brother James (Nick Stahl) whose similarly aimless life is defined by a trashy apartment and a mindless construction work job. Tara is sullen, disappointed in her mother's erratic, irresponsible behavior, and when Joleen once again takes off 'on a new idea', Tara is left with James - trying to figure out an existence for survival. James loses his job due to absenteeism, takes up residence in the filthy basement of his nerdy co-worker Randall (Woody Harelson), while the town cop (Mathew St. Patrick) reluctantly places Tara in a foster home to await the return of Joleen. Tara prefers life with James to her 'imprisonment' and the two take off on a road trip, seeking some degree of happiness and love in a world gone berserk. When James runs out of money, he heads to his old home farm for refuge, an unlikely endpoint as his and Joleen's childhood was warped by their abusive farmer father (Dennis Hopper). The return to the farm, James hopes, will provide connection to Tara's past, but instead it results in a tragedy that ultimately moves Tara back to her 'home' and to Joleen, while James drives off into the unknown future, finally awakened from his sleepwalking through life.

The film is as bleak as the flat and snowy countryside (the film was shot in Canada's winter) and that countryside reflects the desperate loneliness of the characters. The small cast offers solid portrayals with the work of Nick Stahl being the standout performance. Theron, Robb, Harelson, Hopper, and Deborra-Lee Furness (in a small but poignant role) make the best of a shaky script. This is a mood piece and can become depressing if the viewer expects resolution of the sad and empty lives the characters lead. But there is a haunting quality to the look of the film that stays with the viewer, especially in the mystery in the eyes of the character James as he drives into an unknown but awakened future. Grady Harp

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1 utilisateurs sur 1 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
a moving and atmospheric indie drama, 23 août 2009

Auteur : Roland E. Zwick (magneteach@aol.com) de Etats-Unis

"Sleepwalking" starts off a bit like "Frozen River," focused on a single mother struggling to make ends meet in rural America (though it was actually filmed in Saskatchewan). But the movie quickly veers off in another direction, shifting that focus onto her 13-year-old daughter, Tara, and her younger brother, James (the girl's uncle), who are suddenly forced to rely on one another for comfort and support when Joleen temporarily bows out of the picture.

When her boyfriend is arrested for growing marijuana, Jolene (Carlize Theron) and Tara (AnnaSophia Robb) are forced to move in with James (Nick Stahl), a soft-spoken, good-hearted fellow in his 20s who is two months behind in his rent and who barely scrapes by on what he makes at his low-paying construction job. Soon, Joleen has split the scene, James has lost his job, and social services has taken Tara to live in a foster-care facility. So James and Tara decide to head out onto the open highway, stopping off at roadside diners and motels, and staying one step ahead of the authorities who are in pursuit of them.

"Sleepwalking" is one of those gritty, slice-of-life dramas that sympathetically and accurately depicts what life is like for the working poor. It is rife with authentic details and rich in small town atmosphere. Director William Mahr and cinematographer Juan Ruiz Anchia really know how to extract the essence of a locale for mood and effect, making the bleak landscape and stark setting integral elements in the drama - an effect greatly enhanced by Christopher Young's rich and evocative acoustic-flavored score. Superb, naturalistic performances by the three lead actors make us truly care about the people they are portraying and the things that are happening to them.

"Sleepwalking" is not without its flaws, however. For one thing, the movie undercuts some of its carefully crafted verisimilitude with its casting of "name" actors in a few of the key secondary roles - primarily, Woody Harrelson as James' friend and work buddy, and an over-reaching Dennis Hopper as Joleen and James' abusive dad. These parts would have been more effective had they been played by less-familiar actors (though I do realize that, without such star power attached to the project, a movie like "Sleepwalking" might never have gotten made in the first place). More seriously, the otherwise excellent screenplay by Zac Stanford falls apart a bit in the final third, resorting to stereotyping and hokey melodrama when it most needs to stay true to its characters and their situations.

Still, despite the patness, "Sleepwalking" is a quietly powerful, richly atmospheric tale of a group of troubled but essentially decent people struggling, despite their all-too-human weaknesses, to make their way in the world.

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3 utilisateurs sur 5 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
A good movie in all aspects, 24 février 2009

Auteur : Nick Damian de Toronto, Ontario

WHile the movie itself is depressing, the setting certainly looks like an abandoned wasteland, the movie was good.

The movie was great in fact.

All characters were believable and their performances were outstanding.

Charlize blows me away all the time and after seeing this, I am just amazed at how great she is as a performer.

All the cast was good - Woody is such a versatile performer. Good, bad, crazy, brave - this guy has great range.

Saskatchewan where I had lived very briefly is as depressing as it is shown here.

WHomever did chose the locations, certainly knew how to make Saskatchewan look even worse than it is.

With great camera work, great performances - it's just a solid film.

Not my favorite. Never will be,but just good in it's own ways.

Charlize has such a beautiful face, even when she has swollen eyes, she still looks amazing.

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5 utilisateurs sur 9 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
Echoes of '70s Era Road-trip Soul Searching, 21 mars 2008

Auteur : george.schmidt (george.schmidt@hbo.com) de fairview, nj

*** Ce commentaire peut contenir des spoilers ***

SLEEPWALKING (2008) **1/2 Nick Stahl, Anna Sophia Robb, Charlize Theron, Dennis Hopper, Woody Harrelson, Mathew St. Patrick, Deborra-Lee Furness, Callum Keith Rennie, Amy Matysio.

Echoes of '70s Era Road-trip Soul Searching The golden age of the'70s film-making is alive and well in this indie that echoes Ashby and Mallick.

Joleen (Theron, who also produced) is a down-on-her luck type who is going nowhere fast. Her beauty has faded in broken promises, loveless life, and addictions too many to mention and neglecting that will haunt her forever.

Namely her single-parenting duty to her pre-teen daughter, Tara (Robb), who is understandably loathing her for the fact that there lives are in constant limbo with Joleen shacking up with one dead-beat loser after another until if finally catches up with her and them, costing Joleen no alternative (apparently) then to enlist her ne'er-do-well kid brother James (Stahl), who has problems of his own, namely keeping a steady paycheck.

One day Joleen's current beau is busted for growing pot in their home and while she haphazardly abandons him with Tara in tow they plunk down with James in his sparse, blighted home. Tara's resentment is only kindling for things get progressively worse as Joleen steals away in the middle of the night leaving her beat-up cruiser for them to use.

With no word on where his sister has skedaddled to James has no choice but to keep his niece under his care but he can scarcely handle the chores of daily challenges for himself.

When James is fired from his construction gig, loses his home and has nowhere to go, Tara is forced into foster care by the authority of the local law enforcer (St. Patrick), who is looking for Joleen as well.

James shacks up briefly with his only friend (Harrelson) until he visits Tara at her current housing that proves to be problematic in that she is cruelly treated. Prompting a decision to leave, James takes Tara in Joleen's beater and drives south to his estranged, abusive father's (Hopper) hoping for some help and maybe closure to his tortured life.

Novice filmmaker Bill Maher's pacing is a bit lugubrious – but maybe that's intentional for it's title to reflect – however the performances are first-rate overall. Theron's smallish role proves her Oscar win was no fluke and her deglam take of a woman on the fringe is poignant as well as Stahl's almost mute turn as a whipped man far too early in life to give up hope. Robb continues to be a rising young actress and Hopper's menacing paterfamilias makes another effort to his rogue's gallery of villains.

The cinematography by Juan Ruiz Anchia is bleak yet beautiful and the screenplay by Zac Stanford, while meager, still manages to make the characters' plight heartfelt if too familiar.

Overall not a bad effort but wanting a little more reflects the film's message: it isn't bad to do so.

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Can they stop "sleepwalking" through life and get some direction?, 25 août 2009
Auteur : TxMike de Houston, Tx, USA, Earth

*** Ce commentaire peut contenir des spoilers ***

Charlize Theron produced this movie and takes the key role as the whacked out mother. While it is a key role, it still must be regarded as a supporting role.

When the movie begins she and her 12 year old daughter are forced to move out of her boyfriend's place when he is arrested for dope and growing it. Their only short-term hope is to crash at her brother's spartan place, with no real plan. The daughter just wants to live the way a normal 12-year-old school girl lives but with mom that seems pretty well impossible.

Nick Stahl is good as the brother, James. AnnaSophia Robb is superb as the daughter, Tara. And of course Charlize Theron is the mom, Joleen.

When mom goes out one evening and never returns, things change even more. Then when James, a rather "dull" person, loses his menial job, and already 60 days behind on his rent, they have to look for even more drastic solutions. They end up taking a road trip, and that trip takes them back to the farm where his dad still lives and works the farm.

Joleen had often said that she would NEVER go back to that place and we soon find out why. Dennis Hopper as Mr. Reedy, "Dad", is about the most severe person you could find. He won't allow them any rest, or vacation, he gets both of them up at the crack of dawn and requires them to work all day. Tara quickly figures out why her mom hates that place and had severed ties with grandpa.

The movie examines their plight and the theme, per the title, is for the main players to see if they can quit sleepwalking through life and get on a better, happier track. By the end it appears that they will.

SPOILERS: James is able to tolerate his severe dad, at least at first, because he had no choice. No money and no place to go. But one day when dad starts to beat Tara in the barn when he doesn't like her attitude, James beats him with a large shovel and kills him. He travels back to home, where Tara and Joleen are reunited, but James keeps on trucking. We don't know what happened to him.

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