Sleepers (film)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
German title Sleepers
Original title Sleepers
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1996
length 150 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Barry Levinson
script Barry Levinson,
Lorenzo Carcaterra
production Steve Golin ,
Barry Levinson
music John Williams
camera Michael Ballhaus
cut Stu Linder
occupation

Sleepers is an American drama from 1996 based on the novel by Lorenzo Carcaterra . The term sleepers , as it is explained at one point in the film itself, stands in gutter jargon for people who have been in a juvenile detention center.

action

Shakes, Tommy, Michael and John grew up in Hell's Kitchen , a predominantly unemployed immigrant neighborhood in Manhattan , in the 1960s . The four inseparable friends come mostly from broken working-class families and don't expect much from life. The young are very dear to the heart of the Catholic priest Father Bobby, he tries to convey values ​​to them and promote their talents. They appreciate him as a fatherly friend and earn a little extra as an altar boy, but they also take on courier services for the local Mafia boss King Benny.

On a hot day in the summer of 1967, out of boredom, they decide to steal from a hot dog seller. Shakes orders a hot dog and runs away with it without paying. While the seller is chasing him, the others kidnap the abandoned hot dog cart. But since they underestimate its weight, the car falls down a subway stairs and seriously injures a passerby. Despite their repentance and the advocacy of Father Bobby, the boys are sentenced to between 6 and 18 months' imprisonment at the Wilkinson Home for Juvenile Offenders .

At the Wilkinson Home, four sadistic guards - Sean Nokes, Henry Addison, Ralph Ferguson and Adam Styler - systematically humiliate, beat up, torture and raped the boys. They do not tell their relatives and Father Bobby, who visits them every month, out of shame and fear. One day, when a football game between the inmates and the guards is scheduled, the boys playfully want to get back at their guards. They persuade the excellent player Rizzo, who just wants to get his imprisonment over smoothly, to take part and even narrowly win after a tough and unfair game. Rizzo is angry and beaten to death by the four guards; Shakes, Tommy, Michael and John go into solitary confinement. Shakes wants to make his experience public after his release, but since the other three do not want to talk to anyone about it, they agree to remain silent. On Shakes' last night before their release, all four are once again brutally abused by Nokes and his colleagues.

The second part of the film begins 13 years later, in the fall of 1981. Shakes is a journalist for the New York Times , Michael is the assistant prosecutor. Tommy and John, on the other hand, are considered the most dangerous members of the West Side Boys crime gang and have already committed several murders. Coincidentally, these two meet Sean Nokes one evening. When they introduce themselves to him by name, he recognizes them, but he glosses over the events and continues to mock them. They shoot him and are tried for the murder. Michael takes the charges with the intent of losing the case in order to save his friends. That's why he drafts the defense strategy, which is staged in the courtroom by the seedy and alcoholic lawyer Snyder, whom King Benny hired as a straw man for this purpose (he reads from Michael's script). Michael gives Shakes extensive information about the former overseers that he has collected over many years. Carol, a friend from childhood and now a social worker, also helps with her contacts and knowledge. She had been with Michael before, and later with John.

When it becomes clear that Michael needs a witness, Shakes seeks out Father Bobby, who initially refuses to make false statements under oath. Shakes then decides to tell him and Carol, who is also present, against their agreement, in detail about the events in the Wilkinson home. Carol understands Shakes' shyness and also realizes why her relationship with Michael had to fail.

Now the four friends are also taking revenge on their other three tormentors. Michael calls Ralph Ferguson, to whom he cannot prove anything, to the stand, allegedly as a testimony to Nokes, but in fact he has Snyder cross-examine him about the incidents at the home. Ferguson, taken by surprise, confesses with tears. The police officer Styler is brought to justice for murder and corruption with the help of internal information and manipulated evidence. Addison, who holds a high position in the mayor's office and continues to abuse children, is tortured and murdered by Rizzo's older brother, a gangster and drug dealer, after learning the truth about Rizzo's death.

After much hesitation, Father Bobby is ready to help and swears under oath that he went to a basketball game with Tommy and John that evening. He shows three tickets as evidence. Based on this statement, the two defendants are acquitted.

A month later, the five friends John, Tommy, Michael, Shakes and Carol meet one last time and celebrate their success. After that, they will never see each other again. John died of black liquor in 1984, and Tommy was shot two years later. Michael rejects Shakes' offer to work as a defense lawyer for the West Side Boys , he moves to England, becomes a part-time carpenter and never marries. Shakes continues to work at the New York Times. Carol remains a social worker and has a son whom she names John Tommy Michael Martinez after her friends and calls Shakes .

background

Already at the beginning of the film it is emphasized that it is a true story, this can also be taken from the introduction to Lorenzo Carcaterra's novel. However, in the credits of the film, it is noted that New York law enforcement agencies emphasize that this case never happened. There was also never any further evidence to be found. Finally, it is also pointed out that Carcaterra has changed the names and places, but stands by the truth of his story.

Reviews

Barry Levinson made an impressively played and staged drama based on real events. Particularly good: the guest appearances of De Niro as a priest , Hoffman as a drunk lawyer and Gassman as a mafioso . "

“After an initially coherent description of the milieu, the unbalanced film drifts into a heavy-handed elegy on lost innocence and loses all credibility in the absurdly constructed act of revenge in the courtroom. Also stylistically inconsistent. "

Awards (selection)

The film was nominated for an Oscar in 1997 for Best Score ( John Williams ). In addition, both Brad Renfro and Joseph Perrino were each nominated for a Young Artist Award (Category: Best Young Actor in a Drama ).

The German Film and Media Assessment FBW in Wiesbaden awarded the film the rating particularly valuable.

additional

  • At the beginning of the film, Shakes' father tells that King Benny worked for Lucky Luciano . In addition, Dutch Schultz and Albert Anastasia mentioned.
  • In the film, two pubs visitors mention a speech of Ronald Reagan , the beginning of 1981, just his presidency had begun. Tommy and John point out that Republicans are not welcome in Hell's Kitchen.
  • The film was u. a. Filmed in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
  • Fairfield Hills Hospital in Newtown, Connecticut served as the Wilkinson Home for Boys .
  • McHale’s Restaurant (750 8th Avenue at 46 Street, Manhattan, New York City) was the setting for the murder.
  • The Most Holy Trinity Church , Williamsburg, Brooklyn and the Yonkers Courthouse in Yonkers , New York were also filming locations.
  • The actor Robert De Niro, who plays Father Bobby, comes from Hell's Kitchen himself.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Certificate of Release for Sleepers . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , April 2010 (PDF; test number: 76 497 V).
  2. Sleepers on prisma.de
  3. Sleepers. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed April 24, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  4. a b c d filming locations on IMDB