Sleepers (1996)
Sleepers (1996)Director: Barry Levinson
Starring: Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro, Kevin Bacon, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Patric
Genre: Crime / Drama / Thriller
Runtime: 147 minutes
Overview
Sleepers is a dark, emotionally heavy crime drama about friendship, trauma, and long-delayed justice. Set in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen, the film follows four childhood friends whose lives are shattered after a prank goes wrong, sending them to a brutal juvenile detention center where they suffer severe abuse.
Years later, as adults, two of them seek revenge when fate brings them face to face with their abuser—forcing their friends to confront the past and test the limits of loyalty, morality, and forgiveness.
Highlights
Ensemble Cast: Powerful performances across generations, with Kevin Bacon especially chilling as the sadistic guard.
Brad Pitt & Jason Patric: Strong, emotionally grounded portrayals of damaged adulthood.
Robert De Niro & Dustin Hoffman: Add gravitas as legal figures navigating justice and conscience.
Bleak Tone: Unflinching depiction of trauma and its lifelong consequences.
Themes: Childhood innocence lost, abuse, vengeance, and moral ambiguity.
VerdictSleepers is disturbing, intense, and deeply affecting. While controversial for its subject matter, it’s a compelling exploration of how trauma shapes lives—and how the search for justice can blur into revenge.
Rating: 8/10
