MovieChat Forums > Sleeping Giant (2016) Discussion > commenting on the film.

commenting on the film.

posted 9 years ago by richardlcourchene-98655
7 replies | jump to latest

While I enjoyed the overall arc it took awhile to get there. Perhaps the most realistic parts of this movie was how the main three characters were drawn. Found myself remembering snippets of that age and what I thought was important.

It's clear that the three boys have limited to no acting experience which, in this case, worked. Their performances were natural and raw and honest.

The story itself took awhile to get going. It was rather muddy for the first maybe 40 minutes. I found myself wondering what the storyline was.

But as it slowly gelled together it worked and worked well. A Canadian film worth seeing and certainly deserving of finding an audience.

[–] paradoxincognito 9 years ago

Yeah I can see a lot of people wanting to give up on this at first but once the movie gets going. holy stink. this is one of the most intense movies I have seen in quiet some time. 8/10.

[–] sturmtiger00 9 years ago

this is one of the most intense movies I have seen in quiet some time.

You thought this movie was 'intense'? You need to watch A LOT more movies.

[–] Mamabadger56 9 years ago

I found that the movie was intense if I was paying attention. The gradual breakdown of some relationships, the change in others, the slow growth of hostility and tension among the boys, was clearly building up into something bad. A slow paced movie can also be intense.

[–] Crematory 8 years ago

It's clear that the three boys have limited to no acting experience which, in this case, worked. Their performances were natural and raw and honest.

Or they were simply good actors.

[–] njblinds 8 years ago

I don't know about the rest of you but that movie hit home like no other adolescent film I have seen in quite some time.
Maybe some of you didn't know kids like these three but trust me, they're out there.
No, the plot wasn't the greatest but I knew kids that were exactly like the two cousins. Unlike other bad boys I have seen in coming of age films, these guys were about as close as could be with some of the kids I hung out with as a teenager. It was almost scary how good they were.
The director was smart to allow them so much liberty in ad libbing as opposed to the phony dialogue most child actors are stuck with in some of the more popular well known adolescent films.

Sleeping Giant is certainly not going to appeal to everyone but I absolutely loved it.

[–] Clemencedane 8 years ago

I agree. I was never bored, though. I like movies that unfold slowly and have a lot of natural moments where characters can just be. Some of the adult acting was a bit weird, I thought, but the kids were really natural. Even though I am a girl and grew up in a different era a lot of the situations they were in, the different personalities and the group dynamics felt really familiar to me. I was most like the Adam character when I was that age and had some people I hung out with who remind me of the other kids. The minute they mentioned Todd's Cliff I knew we would end up there at some point. I like that we were dropped in in the middle of a slice of life and then we left just as abruptly, without any pat resolution. It was a little hard to figure out the time period. Someone else criticized the lack of smart phones as unrealistic and I would say that is the only detail that made it seems ever so slightly like a different era. Otherwise these kids seemed completely typical for today. The Dad was so "okeley dokely" sometimes he seemed a bit like a parody, but I can believe there really are guys like that out there.

[–] filmfancy 8 years ago

The Dad was so "okeley dokely" sometimes he seemed a bit like a parody, but I can believe there really are guys like that out there.

First off -- lol! The dad just wanted to be his son's friend and seem cool. It didn't seem like he had grown up himself. It seemed like he really just wanted to be free to do what he wanted (like have an affair) without any consequences. He kept telling Adam to have fun and to go after Taylor.

There are a lot of parents who don't really want to parent, for whatever reason. They just want to be pals, thinking their kids will tell them everything. But it usually doesn't work out very well.

I like that we were dropped in in the middle of a slice of life and then we left just as abruptly, without any pat resolution.

I agree. By the end of the summer Adam and Riley will be very changed. They will probably not be able to be so carefree again.

And all the pieces matter (The Wire)