A messy and bleak bad dream

Bleak and heavy-handed, Sleepwalking stars Charlize Theron as a messed-up single mom who abandons her daughter to run off with a trucker.

While she's cavorting for a few weeks - but, really, it's hard to imagine she's having much fun - 11-year-old Tara (AnnaSophia Robb) is left in the care of her mother's simple-minded, beaten-down brother. Uncle James (Nick Stahl) lives in a dump in a dumpy Northern California town, works road construction, and isn't good for much except long, empty broods.

Written by Zac Stanford (in a vein that's like Raymond Carver Not-So-Lite), and directed by first-timer Bill Maher, Sleepwalking goes from grim to grimmer. Theron's trashy Joleen - evicted from her house after her boyfriend gets busted for growing, and selling, marijuana - is a reckless, self-destructive soul. She disappears for the long middle stretch of the movie, leaving Tara and James to fend for themselves.

But first, Social Services intervenes, putting Tara in a foster home after James loses his job. And then Tara runs away, and James with her. So Sleepwalking turns into a road movie for a while, pulling into diners and motels, before landing on a Utah farm - home of James and Joleen's plug-nasty dad, an abusive old jerk played with anything but a soft touch by Dennis Hopper.

Young Robb shows depth and mettle - and stands on a diving board smoking a cigarette with aplomb - and Stahl, whose character is the sleepwalker of the title, gives a performance that's vastly more effective than the lines he's got to work with.

But Sleepwalking is still a bummer.

Directed by Bill Maher. With Charlize Theron, AnnaSophia Robb, Nick Stahl, Dennis Hopper and Woody Harrelson. Distributed by Overture Films.

Running time: 1 hour, 40 mins.

Parent's guide: R (sex, profanity, violence, adult themes)

Playing at: Ritz at the Bourse, Showcase at the Ritz Center/NJEndText