When a Hollywood film revolves around mentally or physically afflicted character, the first thing that might come to the mind of the more cynical or more experienced segments of the audience is the phrase “Oscar bait”. Many such films, despite being lauded by critics, often don’t live to the hype and don’t stand the test of time. On some rare occasions, especially if they are work of single author’s vision, they become exactly what they are cracked up to be. One such film is Sling Blade, 1996 drama written and directed by Billy Bob Thornton.
The film had its origin in Swine Before Pearls, Thornton’s one-character play, which was in 1994 adapted into Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade, short film starring Thornton and directed by George Hickenlooper. Sling Blade is its feature length remake and starts with plot identical with the short film. Protagonist, played by Thornton, is Karl Childers, mentally retarded man who has spent most of his life in Arkansas mental hospital. At the beginning, he is interviewed by young newspaper reporter where he explains that he ended in hospital at the age of 12 after murdering his mother and her teenage lover. Karl now knows that what he did was wrong and thinks that he won’t murder or harm anyone else again. State appears to agree with him and he gets released. Karl is at first unprepared for outside world, but hospital warden arranges for him to get job in his old home town at small repair shop owned by Joel Cox (played by James Hampton). Despite his limited intelligence, Karl shows great skill in fixing lawnmower but also manages to win people with his honesty and friendly nature. He befriends 12-year old boy Frank Wheatly (played by Lucas Black) whose mother Linda (played by Natalie Canerday) agrees to let him stay in their shed. But soon Karl meets Linda’s boyfriend Doyle Hargraves (played by Dwight Yoakam), a mean and often violent man who uses every opportunity to insult and threaten him, Frank, Linda and Linda’s gay boss Vaughan Cunningham (played by John Ritter).
Sling Blade, which represented Thornton’s directorial debut, was made in independent production with very small budget and later had rather impressive box office results for such sort of films. Thornton, who had dealt with similar milieu in the script for much-lauded low budget thriller One False Move, took a lot of inspiration from his native Arkansas and portrayed in a manner much more positive and without condescending attitude Hollywood film makers employ while dealing with so-called “Flyover Country”. Most of the characters in the film are decent and kind and the dark side of rural America in form of sharp class divisions and homophobia is merely hinted. Positive portrayal of “hicks” include even the protagonist, who is shown as physically intimidating, but ultimately decent man who, despite his intellectual disabilities, can display some common sense and even function as film’s moral anchor. Thornton as director doesn’t want to reinvent the wheel and lets the plot build slowly, using the minimalist style based on static shots that allow the cast to do all the work.
Thornton as the actor is also very impressive and it could be easily said that Karl Childers represents the best role in his career. This performance eaned Thornton a nomination for Oscar for Best Actor, which he didn’t win, unlike Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. Thornton’s great work is complemented by the rest of the cast, which included young Lucas Black whose good chemistry with Thornton helped avoid cliches and unnecessary melodrama in depiction of friendship between gentle giant and troubled boy. Country singer Dwight Yoakam is also effective in the role of film’s villain, while Thornton’s good real life friend John Ritter and former television hearthrob also transcends cliches by playing gay man having to deal with the life in small town. Veteran character actor J. T. Walsh also gives small but chilling performance as hospital inmate with violent history who, unlike Karl, truly belongs behind the walls. Although few scenes look little overlong and music by Daniel Lanois get irritating at times, Sling Blade has deserved most of critics’ praise and can be recommended as one of the finest pieces of 1990s American independent cinema.
RATING: 8/10 (+++)
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