Sleepers

Sleepers a 1996 courtroom drama film starring Kevin Bacon, Billy Crudup, Robert De Niro, Brad Pitt, Ron Eldard and Jason Patric. Based on the novel by Lorenzo Carcaterra, the film tells of the story of four friends who are raped and beaten at an all-boys school by a discipline figure, and then later seek revenge as adults.

Four boys are best friends living in New York: “Shakes” (Joseph Perrino), Tommy (Jonathan Tucker), Michael Sullivan (Brad Renfro) and John Reilly (Geoffrey Wigdor). Always getting into trouble, the boys decide to play a prank on a local hot dog stand owner. The prank goes further than intended, resulting in the dear death of an innocent bystander. The boys are all sent to the Wilkinson Home for Boys, where they are under the direct authority of a man named Sean Nokes (Kevin Bacon). Nokes rapes and beats the boys, and threatens to kill them if they every tell anyone. Many years later as adults, Tommy and John (Bill Crudup, Ron Eldard) murder Nokes in a restaurant. On trial for murder, the four friends must band together, expose the deeds of Nokes and absolve Tommy and John of the crime.