Sleepwalking
 Chet  rates it:    Community rates it: (no ratings yet)
   82 of 171 readers found this review helpful.

Some films are like watching paint dry. Unfortunately, this so called film falls into that horrible category. The reason I say "so-called" is because this played more like a network movie of the week then an actual studio released film. This was the type of movie you see on the Lifetime channel for like 5 minutes and then change the channel.

Dull is the word of the day. This movie centers around a twelve year old girl. As it begins her parents are really screwed up and they get involved in a drug deal gone wrong. Tara, the twelve year old gets sent off to the state's foster care system. Eventually the father reunites with the daughter, and more or less kidnaps her. It's hard to call it kidnapping when he's her own father, but the law is the law. In a really ironic moment, the little girl sees her name on an Amber Alert roadside sign as they drive away.

They decide to shack up with their uncle, who is played by Dennis Hopper. He is a crazy sadistic old fool. He is extremely violent and cranky. His life is just one long spiral of constant abuse. Eventually they decide they can't stay there obviously, and move on. Dennis Hopper fit the role to a tee. If there is anyone I can buy as a cranky abusive waste of space, it is him.

Did I mention Tara's mother’s role was played by Charlize Theron? Honestly the whole reason I wanted to watch this was because she is so frickin' hot. Too bad for everyone that she barely has any screen time. The overall moral or story this movie is trying to tell is one of child abandonment. Seeing as how the mother abandons the daughter, you can imagine how little we actually see her. And she certainly doesn't even come close to naked. We never even see a side-boob or anything. This was highly disappointing.

The production value was extremely high, yet the camera work was crap. There were too many moving shots and close-ups for this kind of movie. They certainly didn't need to employ the latest in camera technology for the sake of a movie this bland. The production staff should have just packed it in and went to work on an action film instead.

I think you can tell by my synopsis how boring this movie is. I mean, who actually wants to sit down and watch a story like this? I could turn on Dateline NBC any day of the week and find a similar story. Where are the plot twists? If nothing else this should play as an intense drama, not some slow drawn out tale of woe. I will give this movie a little bit of love based on Dennis Hoppers performance alone, but really, stay away from his one. It's just simply no good.

Added:  Thursday, July 24, 2008

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