One of the earliest films in Academy Award winner Brad Pitt‘s decades-long career has resurfaced on streaming. Released in 1996, the crime thriller was a box office hit starring some of the biggest names of the era, but it has also been the subject of controversy due to its apparent lack of accuracy considering it is “based on a true story.” Prepare for one of those movies that will stay with you.
‘Sleepers’ Has One of the Best Casts of the 1990s
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The four boys in the film Sleepers Warner Bros. -
Kevin Bacon in the film Sleepers Warner Bros. -
Robert De Niro is a priest in the film Sleepers Warner Bros.
Based on Lorenzo Carcaterra’s book of the same name – in which Carcaterra is also a character – Sleepers follows four friends living in 1960s Hell’s Kitchen. The boys are reckless and even run errands for a local crime lord, but it all changes when a prank ends badly. The four of them are sent to a juvenile detention center, where they become the victims of sadistic guards. Ultimately, they go their separate ways when they grow up. However, they’re all brought together again when an act of revenge ends the life of one of the guards who abused them.
The film stars Brad Pitt alongside Hollywood legends such as Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman, and it’s one of those ’90s movies whose poster features the iconic triangular cast layout. They’re joined by Jason Patric, Brad Renfro, Kevin Bacon, Jonathan Tucker, Bruno Kirby, Vittorio Gassman, Minnie Driver, Billy Crudup, Ron Eldard, Wendell Pierce, Jeffrey Donovan, and John Slattery. Sleepers was written and directed by Barry Levinson, best known for works such as Rain Man, Diner, Bugsy, and Good Morning, Vietnam.
Sleepers grossed $165.6 million against a $40 million production budget, a decent box-office performance for a dramatic thriller. It received a positive critical reception, earning a 76% critics’ score and a Certified Fresh label on Rotten Tomatoes. The audience reception was also positive, and today it holds an 85% audience score. The general consensus is that the film’s performances are the highlights, but there’s a divide between viewers who prefer the energetic first half and those who prefer the more grounded second half.
‘Sleepers’ Has Always Been Shrouded in Controversy
Ever since the movie was released, Sleepers has faced scrutiny. The reason is Carcaterra’s claims that the story is true, something that’s also stated in the opening title card, which reads: “This is a true story about friendship that runs deeper than blood.” When the movie ends, viewers also get a message saying that the New York State Division of Youth Corrections denied that the events happened in their facilities. The District Attorney’s Office also denied that the trial depicted in the movie took place.
Carcaterra responded to the backlash, saying, “You have to change dates, names, places, people. The way they looked; you have to make them look a different way.” Director Barry Levinson also added that he hoped the questions surrounding the film wouldn’t “overwhelm” what they had done, but the film is still a matter of controversy. In his three-out-of-four-star review, critic Roger Ebert also noted the lack of accuracy, and said:
“The opening words of Barry Levinson’s Sleepers are, ‘This is a true story about friendship that runs deeper than blood’ …I doubt it is anything of the kind, and Lorenzo Carcaterra’s novel, which inspired the movie, has been convincingly attacked on its claim to be based on fact.
“All movies are in some way fiction, so what does it matter?…With Sleepers, the claim is meant seriously, and that bothers me, because it shows moral decisions being made which, in the real world, would have had real results…As entertainment, the movie functions successfully. But I don’t believe the story is true – not true to the facts, and not true to the morality it pretends to be about.”
Sleepers is currently among the most-watched movies on free streaming. At the time of writing, it sits at No. 10 on Tubi‘s streaming charts, ranking below other oldies like Casino, The Horse Whisperer, and Disclosure.
