Sleepers is a crime drama film released in 1996 and directed by Barry Levinson, based on the novel of the same name by Lorenzo Carcaterra. The story follows the lives of four childhood friends- Lorenzo “Shakes” Carcaterra, Michael Sullivan, Tommy Marcano, and John Reilly- who grew up in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan. In the summer of 1967, when they were all between the ages of 12 and 14, they were sent to the Wilkinson Home for Boys, a juvenile detention center.
At the detention center, they suffered abuse at the hands of the guards, particularly by a sadistic guard named Sean Nokes. Nokes often humiliated and beat the boys, and sexually molested Shakes and Tommy. After their release, the boys went their separate ways but remained connected. By 1981, the boys, now in their mid-twenties, have become low-level criminals. They reunite when they see Nokes at a neighborhood bar. They brutally beat him to the brink of death and since he refuses to press charges, they are sentenced to one year in prison.
While in prison, they meet their old friend, Father Bobby, who had become a priest. He tells them about a murder in Hell’s Kitchen and that the eyewitness wasn’t able to identify who did it. The boys, still angry about what happened to them at Wilkinson, decide to get revenge on Nokes. They hatch a plan to frame him for the murder and get him sent to prison. They will have to tamper with evidence and rely on the help of their legal friend, Carol Martinez.
The trial itself is a spectacle, with high drama and twists. The boys reveal the abuse they suffered at Wilkinson, which shocks the courtroom. Even though they are accused of tampering with evidence, they succeed in getting Nokes jailed for life. The film ends with the boys, now grown men, revisiting their old neighborhood in a new light and finding peace.
The film starred an ensemble cast including Robert De Niro, Kevin Bacon, Brad Pitt, Dustin Hoffman, Brad Renfro, and Jason Patric. It was a critical and commercial success, and won several awards and nominations. It has been called a heartbreaking yet powerful portrayal of the trauma and resilience of victims of abuse.
