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Sling Blade [1996]
![Sling Blade [1996]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51KXWS59W3L._SL160_.jpg)
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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
Billy Bob Thornton wrote, directed, and starred in Sling Blade, a mesmerizing drama with haunting overtones of To Kill a Mockingbird. Thornton plays a mentally retarded man who has spent 20 years in a psychiatric hospital for killing his mother and her lover. Released into the community from which he came, he befriends and protects a lonely boy regularly harassed and abused by his mom's boyfriend (a terrific performance by Dwight Yoakam). The story is ultimately about sacrifice, but Thornton certainly doesn't get twinkly about it. Some of the best material concerns the hero's no-big-deal efforts to integrate into a "normal" life: working, eating fast food, earning admiration for his handyman skills, and attaining a semblance of community among other damaged souls. John Ritter has a great part as a gay shopkeeper who tries to assuage his own loneliness by spilling his guts out to Thornton's uncomprehending character. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
A taste of things to come.
Review date: 2008-01-28 Rating: 10 out of 10
Sling Blade was the first film I ever watched, starring Billy Bob Thornton. I'm eternally grateful that I ever saw it, because it led me on to A Simple Plan, Bandits, Bad Santa etc. (We'll forgive him his momentary lapse in Armageddon!).
Yes, it's long and a little slow-paced. But, in its defence, it has a wonderful performance from a very young Lucas Black, and some shockingly good acting from Country & Western singer, Dwight Yoakam. There are some truly heartbreaking scenes - most notably when Karl re-visits his former home, and surveys the pitiful last resting place of his baby brother.
For me though, what made this film so particularly special, was the enormous amount of empathy I felt for a former killer, who you just know has murder in mind again. It's wrong - but that said, you want him to do it anyway. It takes a very special actor to invoke the kind of feelings that go against what you believe to be morally right - or wrong, depending which way you care to view the film's outcome.
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Reviews
so-so successful... not as great as critics say
Review date: 2007-05-15 Rating: 6 out of 10
After reading other critics, I feel quite ambivalent about the GRANDEUR of Billy Bob Thornton's 140-minutes long directorial debut. On positive side, I must admit that there are actually enormous glut of elements in the event to justify this being a fully-fledged drama: a retarded mother-killer's homecoming after 25 years spent in mental hospital; his naive rapport with a fatherless boy with a miserable existence in rural Arkansas; a widowed mother troubled with her apathetic, alcoholic and abusive boyfriend, and a gentle gay, suffering the usual harassments of gay men in small towns. All of these have been blended with much more of a substance, less of a style.
No quesch, this is an harrowing & absorbing story. Billy Bob Thornton's performance is top notch on all counts. He's no doubt an inborn actor with a great deal of versatility, but his directorial ability is dubious per se as we'll see.
First off, from beginning to end, the movie LUMBERS thru its expected, monotonous course: no twists, no turns, no surprises, nothing at all. Not only interminable, the plot is also utterly predictable, the ending blatantly visible. As expected, Karl takes care of the whole thing when the time comes. As far as I'm concerned, the movie lacks some sub-plots having necessary flashbacks about Karl's shady childhood, his abusive father and other circumstances driving him to kill his mother and her so-called paramour. Most of the time, that PLAINNESS OF PRESENTATION makes the movie boring, gets the viewer dozing.
In terms of technical aspects, cinematography is mediocre at best, lighting is poor, camera angles are mostly wrong. The cameras are motionless most of the time, as if nailed on the ground!!! Shots are awfully distant, no close-ups, no POV shots. Also, colors are faded and unsaturated. Really, really amateurish.
It is sad to say that all these technical flaws significantly water down the strenght of the storyline and brilliant performances...
Magnificent, touching drama
Review date: 2007-03-02 Rating: 10 out of 10
This Sling Blade sees Billy Bob Thornton writing, directing, and playing the lead character, Karl Childers. Karl is a man with an undetermined mental incapacity who is released from the state psychiatric hospital after spending his entire adult life thus far in their care for committing two brutal murders when he was only twelve years old. The film follows Karl as he returns to his home town and tries to make a life for himself in the outside world.
The first thing that strikes you about Sling Blade is the performance of an almost unrecognisable Billy Bob Thornton. It's a very mannered affair, with lots of gurning and throat noises and hand wringing, and it can be a little jarring at first. As the film progresses, however, you cannot help but be impressed with Mr Thornton. Although Karl is a very simple man, he is clearly a man who is weighed down by what he has done and what has been done to him. Unable to use the usual acting tricks to show remorse, guilt, anger or love, Thornton is still somehow able to convince you that Karl is feeling all of these emotions despite wearing an almost impassive face throughout. It is a beautifully subtle example of acting underneath what could have been a caricature.
The next thing to impress is Lucas Black as Frank, a child who befriends Karl. Again, this is a subtle, restrained performance, and it is all the more astonishing to see it from such a young actor. The relationship that develops between Karl and Frank is vital to the ongoing story, so one of those annoying bratty kid actors could have ruined this film. Luckily, Black is a genuine talent without a trace of Hollywood precociousness.
Sling Blade tells its story at a leisurely pace, so I imagine some viewers may feel it drags at times, but this was never the case for me. The characters, the setting, and the slowly unfolding drama drew me in completely. I was enthralled by watching this quiet man as he forged new relationships and revisited his past. It's emotional without being sentimental, and it achieves the great feat of being touching and moving without ever seeming to be obviously manipulative.
Billy Bob Thornton gets a lifetime pass for this film, as far as I'm concerned. He can make as many Armageddons as he likes, because he's the guy who made Sling Blade. I wish there were more films like this one. See it as soon as you can.
Deep in the rejected mind of a child
Review date: 2006-01-16 Rating: 8 out of 10
Slow and long, the film ambles through a deep story about life and the rejection of people who are different, no matter how, no matter how much. Rejection creates evil and sooner or later a tragedy develops from that selfish attitude. The main character is the pure product of such rejection. There are some very good poignant pathetic moments in this long trip through the mindscape of a character that comes straight out of Steinbeck's novels.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, Université Paris Dauphine, Université Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne
A breathtaking film
Review date: 2005-12-03 Rating: 10 out of 10
A "sling blade" is what 12-year old, mentally-retarded Karl used to kill his mother and her lover many years ago. Now middle-aged and released from the state mental hospital, Karl (Billy Bob Thornton) returns to his hometown, so alone and helpless that he even tries to go back to the hospital. But Karl does begin his life on the outside and befriends a boy who is as lonely as he is. Karl moves in with the boy and his mother, who are abused by her drunken boyfriend (Dwight Yoakum) - a man just as evil as Karl's father was.
I put off seeing this move for years because I thought it would be too depressing. While it is sad, I'm glad I saw it, because the story was fascinating and all of the actors were extraordinary. I guessed what the ending would be early on so I didn't feel hopeless watching the story unfold; instead I was caught up in the spell of Billy Bob and the world he created on the screen. Thornton is unrecognizable as the simple man with a cruel past, and his performance is utterly convincing. Lucas Black, as the boy, is also excellent and John Ritter has a very good role as a gay shopkeeper. A thought-provoking movie that takes an unsentimental look at real pain. Recommended.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
John Ritter
Billy Bob Thornton
J.T. Walsh
Lucas Black
Dwight Yoakam
Creators:
Billy Bob Thornton (Primary Contributor)
Dwight Yoakam (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm
EAN: 8717418048778
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 2
Format: Box set, PAL, Special Edition, Widescreen,
Release date: 2005-07-06
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 135 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1996
Language: English (Original Language)