Sleepers (1996) is a crime drama film directed by Barry Levinson, based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Lorenzo Carcaterra. The film explores themes of friendship, trauma, revenge, and justice, and is notable for its powerful performances and its emotionally intense narrative. It stars an ensemble cast, including Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Brad Pitt, Kevin Bacon, and Jason Patric.

The story centers on four childhood friends—Shakes (played by Brad Pitt), Michael (played by Andy Garcia), Tommy (played by Billy Crudup), and John (played by Ron Eldard)—who grow up in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York City in the 1960s. The film alternates between two time periods: the boys’ traumatic experiences as young teenagers in a reform school in the early 1960s and their adult lives in the 1970s.

In the early 1960s, the four boys are involved in a prank gone wrong. They accidentally injure a man, and as a result, they are sent to a notorious juvenile detention center, where they are subjected to brutal abuse by the guards. The most sadistic of these guards is a man named “Nokes” (played by Kevin Bacon). The boys are victimized physically, emotionally, and sexually, leading to deep psychological scars that stay with them into adulthood.

Years later, the four men, now grown and living separate lives, are still haunted by the trauma they endured. Shakes, now an adult (played by Jason Patric), becomes a writer, while his friends have taken different paths. They all remain scarred by their experiences, but their shared past continues to tie them together.

When Nokes, the abusive guard, resurfaces as an adult and returns to his old ways, the four men—now grappling with the weight of their past—decide to take justice into their own hands. They seek revenge on Nokes, leading to a gripping and morally complex courtroom drama that questions the boundaries of justice, forgiveness, and retribution.