The first half of Sleepers is gut-wrenching, disturbing, and brilliantly acted by the young stars. Watching their mistake and the exorbitant price they pay for it, you feel their guilt and their subsequent victimization to the point of physical discomfort. You can't wait for the second act when the villains will be brought to justice and you'll feel just great about the whole thing. . .right?
Then you get the second act. It turns into a showcase for hot young over-actors who could learn a thing or two from their younger counterparts. DeNiro's character is the most compelling and the movie would have done better to involve him more, but because of the cursory examinations Ron Eldard and Billy Crudup (and the screenplay) provide their characters, you never fully believe DeNiro would do what he does. Brad Pitt and Dustin Hoffman try like heck to make their plotline ring true, while Jason Patric and Minnie Driver just sit there and whine as if the story itself provides the tension they lack.
Plotwise, the second half provides only one real moment wherein the wounds begin to heal, with the testimony of one of the villains. The rest of the act, the movie and Hoffman double plead their own case. They're innocent, but if they're guilty it's still OK. The nonsensical mafia subplot seems a weak device to tie up loose ends, and where does DeNiro come up with his ace in the hole anyway? Sloppy writing that leaves the viewer still licking the wounds of the first half.
Then you get the second act. It turns into a showcase for hot young over-actors who could learn a thing or two from their younger counterparts. DeNiro's character is the most compelling and the movie would have done better to involve him more, but because of the cursory examinations Ron Eldard and Billy Crudup (and the screenplay) provide their characters, you never fully believe DeNiro would do what he does. Brad Pitt and Dustin Hoffman try like heck to make their plotline ring true, while Jason Patric and Minnie Driver just sit there and whine as if the story itself provides the tension they lack.
Plotwise, the second half provides only one real moment wherein the wounds begin to heal, with the testimony of one of the villains. The rest of the act, the movie and Hoffman double plead their own case. They're innocent, but if they're guilty it's still OK. The nonsensical mafia subplot seems a weak device to tie up loose ends, and where does DeNiro come up with his ace in the hole anyway? Sloppy writing that leaves the viewer still licking the wounds of the first half.