Overview
A gripping tale of vengeance and survival that explores the scars of childhood trauma.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- haunting
- mournful
- 怒り
- serious film night
- crime drama marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the performances, young ensemble, cinematography, and production design, while finding the voiceover and divided second half uneven.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The boys' abuse at Wilkinson Home for Boys determines their later identities, loyalties, and revenge plan.
Michael and Shakes construct a criminal-legal scheme against the guards while confronting the morality of revenge and perjury.
Adult Shakes narrates the past, moving between the boys' Hell's Kitchen childhood, reformatory abuse, and the later case.
The film's cinematography and production design emphasize Hell's Kitchen, institutional spaces, and the revenge plot through a dark neo-noir atmosphere.
Films like Sleepers, and why
Mystic River
shared themes of childhood abuse, revenge, moral compromise, and a crime-centered drama with a courtroom dimension
The Departed
shared neo-noir atmosphere, criminal underworld, damaged male friendships, and morally compromised revenge
Sleepers
shared prison trauma, institutional abuse, redemptive friendship, and emotionally serious crime drama
A Few Good Men
shared courtroom strategy, concealed wrongdoing, ethical compromise, and a tense legal thriller structure
Movie Details
- Director
- Barry Levinson
- Release Date
- 1996-10-18
- Runtime
- 147 min
- Rating
- 7.6 / 10 (4054)
Cast
- Kevin Bacon
- Robert De Niro
- Dustin Hoffman
- Bruno Kirby
- Jason Patric
- Brad Pitt
- Minnie Driver
- Brad Renfro
- Ron Eldard
- Billy Crudup
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Sleepers about?
- Four Hell's Kitchen friends turn the scars of reform-school abuse into a dangerous conspiracy of revenge, loyalty, and courtroom deceit.
- What is Sleepers like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Sleepers as measured, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Sleepers violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Sleepers as brutal.
- What did critics think of Sleepers?
- Critics broadly praised the performances, young ensemble, cinematography, and production design, while finding the voiceover and divided second half uneven.
- Which films are like Sleepers?
- Films with a similar feel include Mystic River, The Departed, Sleepers, and A Few Good Men.
- How long is Sleepers?
- Sleepers runs 147 minutes.
- Where can I watch Sleepers?
- In United States, Sleepers is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand.
