By REVIEW BY TAYLOR V A NARS DALE NEWRELEASES
William Maher’s beautifully shot, character-driven directorial debut, “Sleepwalking,” focuses on the familial bond that haphazardly develops when James Reedy (Nick Stahl) is forced to care for his 11 year-old niece Tara (AnnaSophia Robb) after her mother, Joleen (Charlize Theron) skips town.
The story opens with Joleen being tossed out of her apartment when her loser boyfriend is arrested for selling dope. With no place to live, Joleen moves herself and her daughter into her brother’s desolate apartment adjacent to the railroad tracks. It’s not long before Joleen ditches out with a trucker — and if you had to live in Reedy’s dismal abode, trust me, you’d bail too — leaving a cryptic note behind that promises she’s got a “plan,” and intends to return by her daughter’s upcoming birthday.
Joleen is the type of woman who looks for a man to solve her problems, and her “plan” is never made crystal clear.
“The ‘plan’ was to leave her daughter there for a month or so, so she could find ‘the guy.’ hook ‘the guy’ and come back with ‘the dad figure,’ but I never wanted to put any of that on film,” Theron said during an interview.
Coupled with the film’s fine performances, this nebulous ambiguity works in the context of the story and is an enjoyable aspect of “Sleepwalking.” The viewer is presented with several dark situations; a glimpse into a very real and tortured family, but the film always allows the audience to draw their own conclusions as to the reasons behind the character’s actions.
Robb is terrific as the distraught young girl, who struggles with an absent mother, while on the rum from the law with her n’er-do-well uncle. A quirky scene of her jumping, into a pool, while fully-clothed and wearing roller skates, imparts the transition of her character: Now ready to leave her childhood behind.
“Once she dives in, she’s in a protective little bubble … seeing the world from a different angle … from that point you know she’s going to make different choices than her mother,” Robb said of her character.
Robb conveys this smart, troubled child with subtlety and grace.
“Emotionally tapped into this story [of a family with a tumultuous past],” said Theron, who worked both as a producer and an actor in the film.
As always, she’s engaging and believable. Stahl’s performance is so visceral and authentic that some scenes, particularly the ones in which he’s in physical and emotional pain, are difficult to watch. You really feel for his character. Dennis Hopper is frightening as the abusive father, and Woody Harrelson (always enjoyable) adds just the needed amount of lightness to the otherwise dark undertone of the piece.
With Joleen out of the picture, James, who can barely take care of himself, must now also fend for Tara. Behind on his bills and seemingly incapable of making choices that would be in Tara’s best interest, he ultimately loses her to foster care. Not to give away the entirety of the plot, let’s just say, things really take a heinous turn for the worse when he decides to hole up at his father’s ranch. If you’re looking for an interesting film that gives you a lot to ponder, this is it.
TAYLOR VAN ARSDALE is a writer/producer and movie reviewer for the Daily Press. She
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 15, 2008. Read the original PDF.