Sleepwalking

Charlize Theron blows onto the screen in the indie drama Sleepwalking, where she shines in a supporting role as a low class, damaged woman who won't be nominated for any Mother of the Year awards. Despite Theron's disarming physical beauty, she is once again convincing in a brassy, prickly role. While she doesn't transform into an ugly murderess like she did for her Oscar-winning turn in Monster, she gets down and dirty as the crass Joleen, following a trajectory similar to that of her Midwestern mom-in-distress role in North Country, for which she was also nominated for an Academy Award. Sleepwalking isn't a starring vehicle for Theron, but she occupies what little screen time she has with fierce aplomb, cementing herself as her generation's most talented actress.

Joleen tries to build a better life for her daughter Tara, portrayed by AnnaSophia Robb, a revelatory young actress whose striking blonde-haired, blue-eyed looks suggest a healthy future career as a leading lady. Joleen bolts, leaving her daughter in the questionable care of her younger brother, James, played with meek, wide-eyed mildness by Nick Stahl. Sleepwalking is a serious study in child welfare as it relates to the plight of the working class in Middle America, but it lacks the necessary dose of humor that could help cut through the weight of the material.

Despite an impressive cast that also includes Woody Harrelson, the film never fully follows through on its initial thesis that James and Tara must learn to rely on one another in the wake of the dust Joleen kicks up. Before she jets, Joleen says to the milquetoast James, a boy trapped in a man's body, "Don't be nice to someone who shits on you," which foreshadows her action; her desertion is a rich source for drama, but Sleepwalking hesitates on diving in headfirst. Screenwriter Zac Stanford doesn't follow the advice of poet Ezra Pound, who challenged writers to take subjects and make them new. The "blue collar" struggle, the notion that growing up is wrought with difficulty, and that growing up poor is even harder, is tired turf. Stanford doesn't strive to tell the tale of such struggles from a fresh perspective.

When James and Tara hit the road, there's a touching scene where they pretend to be father and daughter, christening Tara with the new name "Nicole," obviously representing the girl's inner wish to be someone else, anyone else but who she is. There should be more exploration of the discovery of self through these two characters at diametric stages in their lives, but the script never takes that tack. The drama spirals out of control when the pair crashes with James and Joleen's nasty father for a few days, where he puts them to work doing hard labor on his farm. Dennis Hopper terrifies as bitter man with no warmth for his kin, and the recurring theme of loneliness and isolation is further emphasized by the film's wintry backdrop and the crunch of the snow under each character's boots as they toil on the farm.

None of the picture's ensuing action matches the intensity of Theron and her initial profanity-rich scenes. Her acting and her character leave the deepest impact, inadvertently making the film her own.

— Amy Sciarretto
07.30.08