Sleepwalking (2008)

Did you ever sit through a movie and find yourself hoping the entire time that it would get better? It isn't good, and hasn't been good yet, but there's some good acting and a foundation for a story and you just really, really want it to be good. But it isn't good. And it doesn't get good. And you feel bad for everyone involved. You feel bad for the actors, the producers, the writer and the director. And the editor. You pretty much feel bad for everyone because they tried, you can tell that they tried. But they failed. And that isn't fun.

The story is clearly personal and fairly believable, even if at moments it feels like a movie and not real life. This is a sharp criticism because this movie screams at you that it is real life and not a phony movie, which makes the phony-ness a little harder to digest. But in the end, you know what is going to happen every step of the way. The story is terribly predictable. And, even more unfortunately, it is very slow. Not the good kind of slow where the tension builds, you get to know the characters better, and the atmosphere takes you to another place. It's just plain boring. You know what's you're supposed to feel and you you know what's going to happen next and how you're supposed to feel about that.

In the end, you're left wishing that they had not made this movie, or had added more depth to it so that you could like it. Because you want to like it. Very good performances from Nick Stahl and AnnaSophia Robb push this movie from a 2 to a 4 for me. Dennis Hopper also comes in and does some nice work.

Finally, I adore Charlize Theron. I think she is a true talent and a genuine person. She produced this movie and plays a supporting yet crucial role in it. But, and it kills me to say this, she is not at her best here. I wish I could say otherwise, but perhaps she was too close to the material to both produce and act in it.