Joleen Reedy is a woman that just can't seem to get on the right track of life, her boyfriend is arrested in a drug raid, so she and her 12-year-old daughter Tara move in with her somewhat good-hearted but soft brother, James. One morning Joleen decide to head out of town looking for something different and leaves her brother stuck with her 12-year-old daughter Tara. James is not very good at keeping a job and soon he loses the one he has, that along with Tara not being in school causes social services to step in and remove Tara and place her in a foster home. Each character here is real and they all are people you care about. Tara talks James into taking her on a road trip from the group home, one that sets off an Amber Alert as James did not have permission to do so. The end on on the farm of James' father, a dad that was abusive to his kids when they was younger.

The film begins it's final act at this point and each character learns a little bit about themselves and life in the process. This is a drama that places you inside the film, you feel like you are a part of their lives. Writer Zac Stanford and Director Bill Maher have create a powerful real-life drama that doesn't need to be flashy or have plot twists that make the film more glamorous, it relies on a down to earth story and powerful acting and together they make this one of the best drama's I have seen in some time. The cast is simply incredible, Nick Stahl does a fantastic job as James. a man who grows up right before his own eyes, Charlize Theron is nothing short of amazing in anything she is in, her role as the mom that just can't get her act together is brilliant and Dennis Hopper is a scene stealer like he has been his whole career,here again he's amazing. But the spotlight has to go to young AnnaSophia Robb as Tara, a girl determined to reunite with her mom no matter what happens. Sleepwalking is a perfect title for James' character as well as the rest of the characters in the film, this is a film about choices and standing up at the right time to finally make the right ones regardless of their outcome. If you like drama you are going to find it hard to see one that is better than Sleepwalking. The was sucked into the film and the character's lives from it's opening frames and in the end it left me wanting more..only a gem like this could do that. The DVD comes with Special Features that include:

Widescreen Presentation enhanced for 16x9 TVs

Full-Frame Presentation

A Mother's Shame, A Family's Pain: The Making Of SLEEPWALKING

Trailer

Released by Anchor Bay Entertainment. ***** Out Of *****