Sleepers- Underrated

I read Sleepers on the recommendation of my friend in middle school, Dan Shelton. It's the autobiographical tale of Lorenzo Carcaterra, and it's painful and amazing (Side note: His book A Safe Place is of similar quality). I don't want to reveal a lot of the plot but it's a tale of best friends from a neighborhood in New York who get into some serious trouble and get thrown in juvenile hall. Most of the story stems from their horrific abuses at the facility and the lasting effects on the four, and their road to rectification and redemption. The movie is very good with some very good acting from a lot of well known actors including: Minnie Driver, Jason Patric, Kevin Bacon, Robert De Niro, Brad Renfro, Dustin Hoffman, Brad Pitt, Billy Crudup, and Ron Eldard. You'll recognize a lot of people in the film even if you don't know the actors by name, like Eldard who played Colt, Boyd Crowder's right-hand in Justified this season. All I can say is that the less you know about the story, the better it will be for you. Carcaterra's tales are just brutal in ways that you hope and pray it isn't true autobiographical detail he's rehashing. Bottom Line: 8.9 out of 10. Having read the book I've always been an enormous fan. The cast is amazing and the story is excellent. If you haven't seen this movie it is unquestionably worth a rental. It's far from a comedy or date movie, but it's rock solid & excellent. Reading the book is also highly recommended.