Sleepwalking (2008) by Rae

Directed by: Bill Maher
Written by: Zac Stanford

So, the other night I saw this film called Sleepwalking and unfortunately I may be one of the few people who ever does.

Sleepwalking is the story of a middle-American woman and her brother that have been haunted and totally screwed over by the demons of their past, and how the repercussions of those family demons continue to affect the next generation. James (Nick Stahl) and Joleen (Charlize Theron) are a brother and sister who are both barely scraping by in this world, but they figure anything is better than the home/hell they ran away from as teenagers. As the film opens, Joleen is being questioned by police who have just busted her boyfriend for selling drugs and though they decide she had no knowledge of his illegal affairs, they tell her that she can not return to the house as it is now the scene of a criminal investigation. This leaves Joleen and her 12 year old daughter Tara (AnnaSophia Robb) to crash on younger brother James’ couch.

All too soon Joleen can’t take the pressure and just up and bolts (as she has apparently done before) leaving James to watch after Tara. What follows is a story that pulls at the heart strings. The audience feels helpless watching the dominoes topple as what remains of the little family is torn apart even further by economic strains, social services and the justice system. Still James never abandons Tara and eventually we are taken along on a cross country odyssey as the pair head for the only home James has ever known; the same family farm he and Joleen ran away from years earlier. There they find James’ father Mr. Reedy (Dennis Hopper) living exactly the same life he was the day his children left. Mr. Reedy is still as hard, pig-headed, abusive and unforgiving as ever, and he provides a stark contrast to James and Tara who are growing-up, changing and learning what it really means to be a family.

If I am making all of this sound a little Lifetime-Movie-of-the-Week, I apologize, because it isn’t. With this basic storyline Sleepwalking could have easily fallen into that trap but thankfully neither the writer, the director nor the actors allow that to happen and that is one of the things that impressed me most about the film.

Though I loved Zac Stanford’s first screenplay The Chumscrubber this film is a far cry from the darkly comic, social satire of that Southern California world. Sleepwalking is a small, quiet film with wonderfully solid performances that is challenging to watch. This family is not nice and sweet, their circumstances are downright depressing and there is very little mirth at all in the film. However, Stahl and Robb imbibe their characters with so much hope and determination to grow-up and change that one feels compelled to follow them on every mile of their journey even if it might not be pretty to watch.

As is to be expected from names like Theron, Hopper and Harrelson, the supporting performances are solid all the way around. Charlize Theron has become a master at playing a wide range of characters and being able to shed her modelesque image to become believable as plain, gritty, down and out women. Though she is a minor character here, she manages to do it again; making the audience see only Joleen and never Charlize. Harrelson plays James’ best friend with predictable warmth and humor. Not much of a stretch for this actor, but then it is a very small part. Dennis Hopper is a perfect asshole. Just when you think you might be able to find one redeeming quality in Mr. Reedy, Hopper quietly proves you wrong.

With all of the bigger “name” stars in the supporting roles, Sleepwalking really belongs to the two mostly unknown actors in the lead roles. Challenging as that may be, Stahl and Robb seem to have no difficulty rising to the challenge.

Robb is alternately the boisterous, sarcastic, pre-teen you would expect, and the quiet, scared little girl who has been forced to grow-up way too fast in order to survive. The transitions back and forth are seamless in Robb’s performance. There is one scene that will very much (intentionally on the director’s part I am sure) remind the audience of Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver. With only two leading roles now under her belt this young actress is one to watch going forward.

Nick Stahl is one of those actors who seem to hit every character he is given, and this performance is no exception. James always wants to do the right thing, he wants everybody to get along and he wants the world to be a better place than it is, but he has just never quite figured out how to make a change. Beat down by an abusive father, a lack of education and a series of dead-end jobs, James could easily become an unlikable character that the audience would just dismiss as a three time loser. However, Stahl delivers an expertly controlled, touching and sympathetic portrayal that never allows James to stray down that path.

Stahl has yet to hit it big in Hollywood or even be recognized by the majority of the movie-going public despite the fact that I have never seen him give a bad performance. From The Man Without a Face to Bully to In the Bedroom, from Terminator 3 to HBO’s Carnivale, Stahl has worked with some of the biggest names in the business and despite knocking it solidly out of the park in the mainstream hit Sin City (even when he was cast completely against type), Stahl has yet to become the next Hollywood “it boy.” (Truth be told, not many people realize Stahl was even in Sin City due to the fact that he spent 95% of his time covered in prosthetics and painted yellow.)

Stahl’s under the radar presence in Hollywood may remain intact for the foreseeable future as his upcoming performance as a paraplegic cub-reporter in Quid Pro Quo is also astoundingly good, but the film has a subject matter which will once again relegate it to “art house” only theaters in larger cities. For a guy who is only 28 years old and has already been nominated for a Young Actor’s Award, a Prism Award, a Saturn Award and a Screen Actor’s Guild Award, you would think that more people would know who he is. [*sigh*] Am I saying that I want Nick Stahl to eschew all of these great indie roles in order to spend his time simply blowing stuff up in summer blockbusters for money? No. I just like to watch him work and maybe someday soon everyone else will too.

Sleepwalking is only being released on a limited basis. If you are lucky enough to be in one of those cities with an “art house” theater, you should seek out this small, but worthwhile, film. Just be sure to take your Kleenex.