When we first meet Karl in Sling Blade's prologue, he is a strange, sinister figure recounting his history to a local high school newspaper reporter. The key scene is not overplayed, nor are the ramifications. The film builds to a perfectly-fitting, climactic moment. The audience sees the resolution long before any of Sling Blade's characters do, but that's because we're more removed from the situation than they are. It could be argued that the ending is predictable, but I think "inevitable" is a better word. Meanwhile, Linda's friend and boss, Vaughan Cunningham (John Ritter), is concerned about a stranger living with Frank and Linda, and decides to keep an eye on the newcomer. Frank is glad to have Karl around, not just because he yearns for a father-figure, but because he's afraid of Linda's often-drunk, abusive boyfriend, Doyle (Dwight Yoakam), and believes that Karl's presence will keep Doyle in line. He befriends a fatherless young boy, Frank Wheatley (Lucas Black), and, after meeting Frank's mother, Linda (Natalie Canderday), is invited to live in their garage. Once Karl is out of the hospital, he goes to work as a mechanic in the small town where he was born (and where he committed his crime). His mental simplicity makes him strangely compelling and likable, regardless of his bloody history and uncertain future. There's a little bit of Forrest Gump in him. ![]() Despite his low IQ, Karl is every bit as complex as any other human being - if not moreso. It's not an easy question, and Sling Blade doesn't insult us with an easy answer. Is he still dangerous, or just the "gentle, simple man" others see him to be? His rough, gravely voice is intimidating, and his nervous mannerisms - constantly rubbing his hands together, uttering "uh-huh"s every few words, and never meeting anyone else's gaze - do not inspire confidence. By Karl's own admission, he doesn't reckon he's got a reason to kill anyone else. According to the doctors, he has been cured. As the film opens, Karl is being released from the hospital. He plays Karl Childers, a "mentally challenged" man who has been incarcerated in the Arkansas State Hospital for the criminally insane since the age of nine, when he butchered his mother and her lover with a sling blade. The best acting in the entire motion picture is by Thornton himself. The narrative is little more than a flimsy envelope - it's the men and women who are sealed within that make Sling Blade worth watching. Nearly every scene is designed to reveal something about one of characters rather than advance the minimalist story. ![]() ![]() Thornton has developed Sling Blade as a slowly-paced character study. To a lesser extent, it also offers an atypical vision of the concept of "family" in modern society. Sling Blade, the directorial debut of actor/writer Billy Bob Thornton (who scripted One False Move and A Family Thing), is a fascinating examination of a damaged man's quest to make restitution for his past crimes.
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