Four Star Movies: Sling Blade

Billybob Thorton - Writer/Director/Karl Childers
Dwight Yoakam - Doyle Hargraves
John Ritter - Vaughan Cunningham
J.T. Walsh - Charles Bushman
Lucas Black - Frank Wheatley
Natalie Canerday - Linda Wheatley
Robert Duvall - Frank Childers
James Hampton - Dr. Jerry Woolridge


Karl and Frank deep in conversation.


Karl Childers, the main character in the movie Sling Blade, can be described in a number of ways. He is a kind man. He is odd, both in appearance and in conversation: his eyes are squinty and usually aimed at the ground, his voice is gruff and seems to come from deep within the pit of his stomach. His jaw sticks out, he looks more like a charicature than a person we'd expect to see out in the world. Karl is mentally handicapped. Karl is a murderer. He is, at heart, a simple man who sees things in a very basic way that the rest of us forget to.

The opening scenes of the film showed me one of the most unforgettable monologues I've ever heard in cinema. Karl is sitting in a dimly lit room in the state mental hospital (the nervous hospital as he calls it) recounting the murders that landed him there 25 years ago. He wrings his hands and speaks plainly, though not without pain, about the crimes he committed as a young boy. The story is not centered on past events, though. Shortly after the movie opens, we find out that this is the day of Karl's release. The story follows Karl back into the world, a world which he has no ties to and no knowledge of day-to-day etiquette that we all take for granted. In one scene, a visitor finds Karl standing on someone's porch. "Hi Karl. How long have you been waiting out here?" he asks. "Quite a spell" is Karl's reply. "Well, have you knocked on the door?" Karl pauses for a moment and replies "No, sir."


Vaughn and Karl having lunch together. Karl sure does love french-fried 'taters.


Karl eventually befriends a young boy named Frank who is being raised by a single mother and an abusive boyfriend named Doyle (played amazingly well by country singer Dwight Yoakam.) Karl finds himself with difficult decisions to face in trying to cope and find his place in the situation he has landed in. The movie's feel is always slightly tense, even during happy moments lending a sense of uneasy peace that could be shattered any moment. There is, because of Karl's mental state and his past, a constant threat of violence in the movie. The film manages to take place in a small southern town without being full of cliche', which is a refreshing thing to see.

The cast, from Thorton on down, is simply outstanding. The late John Ritter plays Vaughan Cunningham, the gay man who manages the store where Frank's mother works. He is kind, though slightly awkward and has trouble fitting into a small southern town as a gay man. JT Walsh's role as a patient who loves to tell Karl his disturbing tales is another perfect casting choice. This was Billybob Thorton's big breakthrough role, and one only has to watch the film to see why. He brings Karl's happiness, sadness and sensitivity through with stark honesty and simplicity. Thorton wrote, directed and starred here and proved to me that he has a true talent for each of these duties.


This is Billybob Thorton's movie in every way.


Sling Blade is one of those movies that everyone should see. It is deep, wonderful, emotional, beautiful, terrible and sad all at once. This is truly a modern classic.