SLING BLADE
A film review by Michael Redman
Copyright 1997 Michael Redman
***1/2 (out of ****)
Recently things have changed in the world of cinema. Not only are independent films capturing top awards, but one of the most successful auteurs around is named "Billy Bob".
Billy Bob Thornton wrote, directed and starred in the most disturbing film in recent memory. The movie was made for an incredibly low $1 million, sold to Miramax for $10 million and is well on its way towards earning many times that for the studio.
Thornton plays Karl Childers who returns home to his rural southern town after spending 25 years in a "nervous hospital". At the age of 12, Childers murdered his mother and her lover misunderstanding the situation. Now he reckons that the doctor thinks he's cured. Un huh.
Gentle to a fault, the simple man is much more complicated than you might expect. Making close friends with a young boy as a result of a chance meeting, he is drawn to his new family. Young fatherless Frank Wheatley (Lucas Black) likes the way Karl talks (un huh) and appreciates the protection he offers from his mother Linda's (Natalie Canderday) drunken abusive boyfriend Doyle (an all-too-convincing Dwight Yoakam). Linda's best friend, the gay effeminate Vaughan is played convincingly by, of all people, John Ritter.
Karl speaks with a halting yet confident Old Testament view of the world. Guilty of not only the double murders, but also of involvement in an even more unspeakable crime, he is searching for redemption for his sins committed from a distorted innocence.
The portrayal of the redneck life that exists in this small town is both frightening and compassionate. Country singer Yoakam's drunken rage is particularly convincing as he instantly alternates from slapping around Frank to begging forgiveness to threatening to kill Linda. Life in the fast and desperate lane.
The ending is telegraphed from the beginning. The audience knows what is going to happen and it is somewhat of a disappointment when it does. The film isn't about a surprise finale, but rather the inescapable one. The players are set into motion and no power on earth can stop what is to be.
Billy Bob's Karl is a masterpiece of characterization. No Forest Gump, the virtuous murderer is an intense image that you'll be seeing in your mind's eye for a long time.
[This appeared in the 4/10/97 "Bloomington Voice", Bloomington Indiana. Michael Redman can be contacted at mredman@bvoice.com ]
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