The Kevin Bacon Connection: Sleepers (1996)

So for anyone who has been curious what "pattern" I've been talking about for the past few reviews, it's that each movie shared an actor with the one before it. The first 3 were simply coincidence. If I hadn't decided to watch Fargo and Zodiac in that order, then it wouldn't have matched up with Jarhead, which Puneet picked for me. It was only once I watched Zodiac that I realized that they linked up like that, and so I decided to see if I could do the "Six Steps to Kevin Bacon" game. I essentially was trying to link Jarhead to Kevin Bacon, but with only 3 steps left to me since the first 3 had already happened by chance. Luck has it that I was able to make the link with only 2 more movies, Great Expectations being the connecting link to today's film, Sleepers. Yay for me! With that out of the way, how about I actually talk about the movie I watched today, and not all the ones I've watched already? Sounds good to me!


The story in Sleepers can be divided into two parts. The first part is about the childhood years of a group of boys, Michael, John, Tommy, and 'Shakes', who grow up in "Hell's Kitchen" in New York City back in the 60s. They're always pulling pranks and are generally up to no good, but one day their scheme to rob a hot dog vendor blows up in their faces, resulting in the near death of a stranger. They are sent to the Wilkenson Home for Wayward Boys, which is a jail reform center for minors. There they are secretly tortured, and worse, for the entirety of their "no more than 18 months, no less than 1 year" term.

The second half of the story takes place years later. Now grown men, Tommy (Billy Crudup) and John (Ron Eldard) randomly come across one of the Wilkenson guards who abused them all, and kill him in revenge. It's now up to Michael (Brad Pitt) and 'Shakes' (Jason Patric) to try and get them off in court so they aren't sent to prison. Sure they're guilty, but the guy deserved it big time, and besides, this is a bit of a mob movie too.

Life is pretty good for the boys, but that soon changes

I really liked how the story became almost an entirely different movie at the halfway point. First it was a coming of age kind of tale, and then it became a court drama, all the while mixed with a New York mob vibe. It was like getting two movies in one that fit together perfectly. It also helped that the story was really good in both sections, and kept my attention for the whole film, even though it is quite long.

The horrible long walk down the long dark hall

The kid actors were all really good, especially Joseph Perrino who played the young version of 'Shakes' who is the main character of the movie. Kevin Bacon, who plays one of the guards who abuses the kids, is a creepy and perverted monster who relishes in their torment. Robert De Niro, who I would normally expect to be a mobster or some kind of criminal, surprised me by turning out to be the priest at their church who looks out for them both as children and adults. I really loved De Niro in this role and even though it was so different to how I normally see him, he still seemed the perfect fit. Other actors like Brad Pitt, Jason Patric, Minnie Driver, and Dustin Hoffman were also great, but there were so many characters there's no way I could talk about them all. Basically everyone in this film in every role was great.

Robert De Niro ends up being the perfect fit for Father Bobby, and stole the movie for me

I'd just like to bring up how well the film depicts the horrible conditions at the Wilkenson facility. Just to be told about it is one thing, but to experience it is something else entirely. The beatings and abuse is horrible, and you can really tell it takes a massive toll on their psyches. Hell, it can take a toll on the viewer! This is of course thanks to the great acting of the kids, and the incredibly creepy and horrible way Kevin Bacon portrays his character. I know I already said that, but it's worth saying again.

It always comes back to Kevin Bacon

I only watched Sleepers because it made my "6 steps to Kevin Bacon" game complete (which was made even harder to do only using movies I've never seen before), but it turned out to be a really good movie. I'm not sure what I can say about it other than that it was really good. The two halves of the story are unique, yet work together really well, and it was just an all around good crime story. I liked all the actors and all the characters, except for the ones I wasn't supposed to like of course. If you haven't seen Sleepers I'd say it's worth checking out. Just make sure you have enough time because it's nearly 2 1/2 hours long, but I definitely think it was worth it.