I walked into the screening of Sleepwalking with absolutely no idea what the film was about. That was my first mistake. Soon the opening credits started to roll and I began to get excited about the potential of the cast – Charlize Theron, Nick Stahl, Dennis Hopper. They’re all good actors, so I thought a movie featuring their talents would be an enjoyable one. That was my second mistake. And then the movie started. And the movie didn’t really go anywhere. And yet, I stayed in my seat like a good little film critic and watched the entire movie. That was my third mistake.

The problem with Sleepwalking is not so much the actual story. It has more to do with the vast length of time the film takes in getting to the story. Sleepwalking opens with Joleen (Theron) being kicked out of her home by the police. Director Bill Maher throws us into the melee with nary an explanation. From the very beginning, the audience is left floundering in Joleen’s world. And before we have a chance to pull our heads above water, Joleen has taken off, plopping us in her brother James’s world. The only things Joleen leaves behind are a note and her daughter Tara (Annasophia Robb) for James and the audience to make sense of the new situation. Just as James and Tara start to find a comfortable rhythm and we have a chance to catch our breath, Tara is abruptly removed from the scene and taken into the custody of social services. From there, a visit from Uncle James unceremoniously turns into a kidnapping when Tara begs him to take her away. Between each of these events is a substantial amount of filler that slows the pace of the movie to a frustrating snail’s pace.

Once the kidnapping takes place and James and Tara go on the lam, I expected the movie to take off and the real story to begin. Unfortunately, the audience has to wade through more filler before James and Tara can arrive at James’s childhood home and the movie can begin. We learn early in the movie that Joleen has sworn never to return to her father’s dilapidated farm, but as Maher prefers to keep his viewers in the dark, we don’t learn the reasons behind the oath until more than halfway into the film. Of course, at this point, few people will care. Those who do care will see the subsequent events coming from a mile away.

The only reason to (and I use this word loosely) recommend this movie is the acting. Although the dialogue is unremarkable and at times even induces an emphatic eye roll, the actors commit to their roles wholeheartedly. Robb’s underprivileged teenager resigned to a transient home life is believable, inducing the sympathy for her situation that makes us care – if only slightly – about the outcome of the story. And Hopper’s heartless father figure is chilling despite being one-note. But the truly complex performance comes from Stahl. The actor allows the audience to penetrate James’s seemingly passive personality and reveals the fiery spirit that percolates just below the surface.

Sleepwalking would have benefited from a streamlining of events. Joleen’s presence probably could have been eliminated from the film altogether or at least should have been limited to the vague expository reference. Instead, the audience is made to suffer through a too-long introduction to a character that checks out within the first half-hour. While Theron is usually a welcome addition to a movie, her talents are wasted on a role that fails to add to this meandering story.

Ultimately, Sleepwalking proves that a competent cast does not a movie make. Multi-faceted characters, insightful direction and clever writing are all necessary components of an entertaining film. The rambling sequence of events had me checking my watch more than once and caused the confusion that has me believing that the filmmakers need to try a little more sleep and a little less sleepwalking.