King Benny, still running the neighborhood, arranges for an alcoholic
lawyer named Snyder (On
the surface, this is a story about justified revenge.
Fast forward thirteen years, with Tommy and Johnny being career criminals, Michael an assistant district attorney and Shakes a newspaper writer, their friendship on the surface more loose than it was when they were children. 0.
Sleepers is a 1996 American legal crime drama film written, produced, and directed by Barry Levinson, and based on Lorenzo Carcaterra's 1995 novel of the same name. Thirteen years later, an unexpected random encounter with a former guard gives them a chance for revenge. They grew up in Hell's Kitchen, a far from perfect neighborhood, one filled as Shakes says with scams and shake downs, but one where the rules were known and easily understood by its residents. Dig a little deeper and
it gets complicated.
They are brought to trial. Beyond co-opting aging lawyer Danny Snyder, who admits he may not be the best choice as an alcoholic who is no longer near the top of his game, the plan is threatened by a key piece, the need for an unreproachable figure to perjure him or herself, that person who Michael and Shakes hopes will be Father Bobby. The opening words of Barry Levinson's “Sleepers” are, “This is a
true story about friendship that runs deeper than blood.” That's careless
writing; how, exactly, does it run deeper than blood, and how deep is blood? Ron is the only non-gangster role model to whom Lorenzo can look for guidance other than Father Bobby. Thirteen years later, an unexpected random encounter with a former guard gives them a chance for revenge.
Even the battle’s ending is different, as Rose is sent plummeting to her death, with the help of Abra, Billy and the spirit of his father, Jack Torrance. Sentenced to no less than one year in the Wilkinson Center in upstate New York, the four friends are changed by the beating, humiliation and sexual abuse by the guards sworn to protect them. After a prank goes disastrously wrong, a group of boys are sent to a detention center where they are brutalized. There, they were physically, emotionally and sexually abused primarily by Sean Nokes, the predatory lead guard of their cell block, and fellow guards Ralph Ferguson, Henry Addison, and Adam Styler, although there were other decent figures of authority at the home, including a few other guards. Thirteen years later, an unexpected random encounter with a former guard gives them a chance for revenge.As children, Lorenzo Carcaterra - Shakes to his friends - Michael Sullivan, Tommy Marcano, and John Reilly were inseparable. In their want to forget about the experience, they made a vow not to talk about it either between themselves or with others. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.
The Coen Brothers' “The
film tells the story of four friends from the west side of New York--Hell's
Kitchen--and how they grow up in a tough but protective neighborhood, where the
moral poles are Father Bobby (Now
I will have to reveal plot points. The opening words of Barry Levinson's “Sleepers” are, “This is a true story about friendship that runs deeper than blood.” That's careless writing; how, exactly, does it run deeper than blood, and how deep is blood? When he's asked to perjure himself, there is an
effective shot: The camera remains on De Niro in closeup, while he thinks, and
thinks. — Murray Chapman Comment. When Tommy and John unexpectedly spot Nokes at a local restaurant, it leads to Shakes and Michael banding together to exact revenge not only on Nokes but all four of the guards who abused them.
Two of the boys, now about 28 and gangsters themselves, walk into a
restaurant, see Nokes, and shoot him to death.
After their trial, they go back to killing. But
one of the original four, Shakes (“Words
like `payback time' and `revenge' came to mind,” Shakes, the narrator, tells
us. By Hannah Shaw-Williams Nov 08, 2019.