Sling Blade is a unique film
in the annals of American cinema. Released to critical acclaim (and, making
$24.4 million off of a $1 million budget, it was highly profitable), it was a
runaway success and an Academy Award winner (for Best Adapted Screenplay). All
that may sound to some like the making of a run-of-the-mill indie flick cum
Oscar-bait, but nothing could be further from the truth. It marks the first
directorial feature of Billy Bob Thornton (who also writes and stars), for
years a struggling actor and screenwriter. Yet despite his somewhat advanced
years as a debutant, it’s obvious that despite his relative inexperience in
this capacity, he was a gifted individual just waiting to emerge. Granted a
small, but sufficient budget by his producers and complete artistic autonomy,
Thornton crafts an immediate masterwork. The dark tale of the developmentally disabled Karl Childers, magnificent played by Thornton, and his attempts to reintegrate
into society after being released from a mental hospital he has been
incarcerated in after brutally killing his mother and her lover at the age of
twelve, is a powerful one steeped in the rich tradition of Southern Gothic.
Indeed, it unfolds in a manner not unlike that of the elegiac westerns of
Cormac McCarthy. It is not all doom and gloom though, for the film is at turns
spirited, humorous and heart-warming. However, we can never forget that
underneath it’s inherently human story, there is a lurking darkness under the
surface. Thornton’s fundamental understanding of his material (adapted from his
previous short film Some Folks Call It A Sling Blade) enables him to bring in a
strong team of collaborators. It’s a beautifully shot picture, with Barry
Markowitz giving the film an ethereal, almost otherworldly quality. Hughes
Winborne’s editing ensures that the film, although having a one-hundred and
thirty-five minute running time, never outstays its welcome, managing to create
an epic scope within a relatively small story. Musician and producer Daniel
Lanois contributes a contemplative, soulful and at times rousing musical score.
It also features a spirited ensemble cast playing a memorable collection of
great characters, included Dwight Yoakam, J.T. Walsh, John Ritter, Lucas Black,
Natalie Canerday, James Hampton, Jim Jarmusch, Vic Chestnutt and Robert Duvall.
Making Thornton’s career overnight, he hasn’t stopped working since, and has
done many great things, but in the case, the stars and circumstances aligned.
There has never been anything like Sling Blade, and there never will be again.
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