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Sling Blade
***
Cinema
Releases - July 10,
1998
Rated on a 4-star
scale; USA; Written and directed by Billy Bob Thornton; based upon the short
film "Some Folks Call It A Sling Blade" written by Thorton and directed by
George Hickenlooper. Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Lucas Black, Natalie Canerday,
Dwight Yoakam, John Ritter.
After almost two years of waiting since the much-hyped
US release of "Sling Blade", Billy Bob Thornton's Oscar-winning
film finally makes its way onto our shores. Looking at it, now, without being
surrounded by any hype, it's hard to see how it got to be Flavour of the
Month at any time in Hollywood, let alone at Oscar time.
I do not say this, however, because of it's quality.
I say it because the film is subtle, quiet, and focuses on simple emotions,
gestures and performances. It's not the kind of thing that L.A. usually goes
wild over, but I'm glad it got that attention, because it's a very good
film.
Based on the 1993 short "Some Folks Call It A
Sling Blade", which was also written by and starring Thornton, "Sling Blade"
tells the story of Karl Childers(Thornton)'s release from a mental institution.
As he tells a young reporter for a high school magazine in the opening scenes,
he has been there since he was a teenager, after killing his mother and a
kid she was having sex with. Now he says "I reckon I feel alright… I
don't reckon I got no reason to kill no one no more."
Karl befriends a young boy from his old home town,
Frank Wheatley (Lucas Black), whose mother, Linda (Natalie Canerday), invites
him to stay in their home. There is mutual affection between Karl and this
pair, but any nice moments these people get to have are broken up by Doyle
(Dwight Yoakam), Linda's crass, aggressive boyfriend. We sense, since Linda
is an intelligent woman who could get better, that a short time ago Doyle
was a nice guy who treated Linda and Frank properly, but now he's taken their
trust for granted and become a cruel bully.
This character's role is pretty obvious, but the
denouement, in which Karl's predictable retort to Doyle takes place, does
not feel like a demonstration of Lennie Syndrome, in which a story will rip
off "Of Mice and Men" and have a retarded character create an awkward situation
because they don't know how to deal with something. This is something handled
in a way which is original and still touching -- Karl purposely throws away
everything because of his love of his newfound companions and desire to help
them.
Thorton's performance gives dimension to Karl.
Thornton knows that Karl is slow and of limited intelligence, but also knows
that he has had many years to think and learn, and the intelligence he does
have is finely tuned, with alert and clear application. Lucas Black is equally
impressive as Frank, who conveys the glee he finds in his friend effectively
without being too slushy. Natalie Canerday finds the right note as Linda,
quiet but noticeable, and reminded me of Don Cheadle's character Buck in
"Boogie Nights" -- we care about the fact she's been dealt a crummy hand,
and we desperately want things to go right for her. It's good to see John
Ritter back on the big screen again, and he does good work as the emotional
clerk Vaughan, a good friend of Linda. Dwight Yoakam is convincing as a true
creep well before the script gives him instructions to break out into
violence.
As for why "Sling Blade" has been delayed for
so long, well… to be honest, I have no clue. If the folks in Hollywood
find it accessible and moving, so should British audiences. I hope they
do.
COPYRIGHT©
1998 Ian Waldron-Mantgani
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