Review of Sling Blade (1996) by Clintus M — 09 May 2012

Billy Bob Thornton's tour-de-force is one of the most memorable movies I've ever seen. It is not a comedy. Although my friends and I love to mimic Karl's voice and do quotes for laughs, there's actually very little to laugh about in this southern gothic drama. Whatever you think of Billy Bob Thornton, Slingblade is an unforgettable masterpiece; the writing, Karl's speech and walk, as well as the rest of the ensemble are some of the greatest in history. Maybe most significant is that although I've never met anyone resembling Karl Childers, the whole film has a frighteningly believable aura to it.

While Thornton's Karl Childers is obviously the central character, other actors contributed mightily to the overall success of the film. The addition of John Ritter and Dwight Yokam to the cast provides both mainstream appeal and tremendous depth to the story. Even the lesser characters, James Hampton as Jerry- the administrator at the "nervous hospital", Natalie Canerday as Linda, and Rick Dial as "Bill Cox add distinctive local color and realism to the ensemble. Lucas Black as Frank Wheatley is probably my other favorite. The surrogate father-son relationship creates an unforgettable emotional attachment, cementing this film as so much more than a usual small town oddball story. The stark contrast between Karl's relationship with his father and the one he develops with Frank provides the emotional centerpiece to this both shocking and tender film. It's a masterpiece of southern storytelling from Thornton's twisted genius.

Billy Bob Thornton contributes this masterpiece to the finest southern literary tradition. I am reminded of a quotation by the eminent author Flannery O'Connor, "Whenever I'm asked why Southern writers particularly have a penchant for writing about freaks, I say it is because we are still able to recognize one." The slow-moving, mentally challenged Karl stands in contrast to Doyle, Karl's father, and the sex criminal inmate. Slingblade won the Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay- Thornton adapted his own earlier work, and Thornton was nominated for Best Actor.