Reviews

Sleepwalking

Dutifully soporific

By BROOKE HOLGERSON | March 19, 2008

1.5 Stars

SLEEPWALKING: Like title, like movie.

Charlize Theron likes to ugly herself up for roles, hiding her beauty behind dishwater hair and puffy eyes. In this Bill Maher effort, she also disappears for the entire middle of the movie, and the film never recovers from her absence. She takes off to make a better life, leaving her daughter Tara (AnnaSophia Robb, from Because of Winn-Dixie) with her younger brother James (played by Nick Stahl with a reticence that borders on comatose). James and Tara then hit the road for weeks, stopping off at the ranch of his abusive father (Dennis Hopper) for some tough love. Sleepwalking meanders through this long second act, unsure of where it’s going or why, as Maher dwells on some scenes and rushes through others, the camera lingering on details — dingy motel signs, abandoned buildings — in the manner of every indie ever rejected by Sundance. Everyone sleepwalks through this movie; audiences will follow suit. 100 minutes | Embassy

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