Review of Sling Blade (1996) by Ryan S — 08 Jul 2009

I just saw this film and I can see why the film launched Billy Bob Thornton into a Hollywood star, other than his fling with Jolie. He even directed and wrote this film.

Regardless, Sling Blade has a different feel than most dramas. A lot of single shots with limited editing and it's this style that makes the audience feel they are in the same room with the characters, most notably the audience feels they are sitting on the couch with Karl (Thornton) when Doyle is on a drunken tirade against the family. We can't escape, and neither can Karl. We have to just sit there and watch.

As far as the ending, not to give it away, but I wasn't disappointed with Karl's actions. We root for cowboys to get the bad guy, for Luke Skywalker to defeat the Dark Side, it seems to follow the same manner, but the disturbing nature does set Sling Blade apart from the other examples.