Sleepwalking

The Numb Life of Sleepwalking
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...

"Sleepwalking" is Sure to Wake You Up
There's no doubt that I'm unlike many teenage boys out there today. Rather than hitting theaters for the hottest action-packed thrillers, I seem to be drawn to indie films of this nature. Here's a storyline that you don't see very often. Not getting into a summary, the film was extremely well produced and the acting was phenomenal. The viewer understands Stahl's innocent confusion and Theron's deep insecurities. For AnnaSophia Robb, you can be assured that this is a side of her the public has not yet seen. Skeptical of how persuasive her performance would be, the young actress doesn't disappoint as she proves that she can be just as gritty and dark as she was fun, perky, and easy to love in Walt Disney's, "Bridge to Terabithia." The actors could not have done a better job. I laughed at every intentional corny joke and chocked up right on point. The film takes a realistic look at how screwed up life can be with just the right amount of redemption to keep you going. Be warned, however,...

A Sad Story With A Bit of Hope In The End
Joleen (Charlize Theron) is a woman with a nasty mouth who seems to want to make good choices, but because she's hanging onto past hurts, she makes one bad choice after the next. It's obvious that she loves her daughter, but since she's so lost she just doesn't know how to be a good mother. Her brother James (Nick Stahl) is a sweetheart - a cool, calm, collected, good-hearted man who just can't seem to get his life together. Tara (AnnaSophia Robb) is stuck between her Mom and Uncle James. She's an unhappy little lady with no real choices.
This movie was much different than what I expected. After watching the preview, I thought James and Tara were going to escape their troubles, start over and be happy with their new lives. But what they do is go from a bad situation to one much worse. James' father (Dennis Hopper) is an evil man who cares nothing about his family. Once he was introduced I could see why Joleen was so troubled, why she was so desperate for a man's love and...

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