Movie Review: Sleepwalking

Trouble with the law sees Tara left on her own. Now motherless, uncle James steps up to the plate and we are treated to a whirlwind crash course in parenting. Things, naturally, don’t go exactly as planned in this high tension drama that looks at a group of down and out people who are definitely on the skids and seemingly at their wit’s end. Hope is left largely in this dust as Sleep Walking turns into a travelogue of sorts with the fate of a little girl perhaps hanging in the balance.
Superstar Charlize Theron (North Country) continues to go for gritty parts and dirties herself up pretty well as Joleen, an indifferent mom whose personality undergoes a rather revealing shock treatment hear. Wake up calls don’t exactly go unanswered for the slow as molasses brother James, a decent sort of chap though missing a few mental capacities. Three cheers to Nick Stahl (In the Bedroom) for making James an interesting person to follow.
Child star AnnaSophia Robb (Because of Winn-Dixie) continues to grow as an actress and is particularly good as Tara, a young girl whose confused and at a crossroads in her life. Small parts by Woody Harrelson (Semi-Pro) and Dennis Hopper (Speed) add further impact to the drama on screen here.
Serious subject matter is broached by Sleep Walking and it may open some eyes to how to deal with children under the most trying circumstances.
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