Sleepwalking is a dramatic movie based on a 12-year-old girl named Tara (Anna Sophia Robb, Bridge to Terabithia, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) who is struggling to cope with being abandoned by her mother. Her mother, Jolene (Charlize Theron, Monster, The Italian Job), is attempting to get her life in order after her boyfriend gets arrested, and her home is ransacked by the police.
Jolene and Tara find shelter with Jolene's brother, James (Nick Stahl, Sin City, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines). After a few days, Jolene leaves, promising to come back, but Tara ends up in a foster home because her mother never returns. Eventually James goes to visit Tara, and she convinces him to take her from the foster home. They run away together, pretending to be father and daughter. Where were they going? Anywhere. Where did they end up? The place James grew up, the farm.
Tara and James spend a majority of the movie at the farm where James and Jolene grew up. Although it is interesting to see why James and Jolene grew up to be the way they are, it is (mostly) the only part of the plot that will excite the viewer. The father (Dennis Hopper, Americano, 10th & Wolf), is a treacherous old man who makes them work hard every morning, afternoon and night, and insists on verbally abusing both James and Tara.
Tara begins to understand why her mother made a vow to never return to the farm. James gets a chance to contemplate why he has not returned, but things eventually get resolved. Whether the resolution was the right one, I'll leave that up to you.
William Maher, who served as visual effects supervisor for the 2005 Sundance film Chumscrubber, makes his feature directorial debut on Sleepwalking. The film is based on an original screenplay by Zac Stanford.
The movie has nothing to do with its title, which adds to my dislike. The only line that connects the movie to its title comes at the very end when James turns to Tara and tells her he's felt like he has been sleepwalking his whole life, which I think sounded too forced.
2008 Woodie Awards
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