Billy Bob Thornton, the writer/director/star of “Sling Blade,” apparently believes in keeping it simple, and in this case he’s done it to perfection. He’s taken an ordinary character sketch (though done extraordinarily well) and built a simple but very entertaining movie around it.
Karl, fresh out of the nut house, is mesmerizing. Thornton packs this character with all sorts of engaging little foibles and habits, then personally breathes life into this mentally deficient (yet, somehow, wise) man. His unique voice, his constant hand-rubbing, his ambling gait, and his awkward shyness endears him to the audience, and brings to mind a cognizant Lennie Small, from Of Mice and Men. This troubled soul, alone, is interesting enough to hold the audience’s attention for a couple of hours, but there’s also a bit of a story.
Karl improbably befriends a young boy, Frank, who is struggling through an incredibly difficult childhood. His father has killed himself, and his loving, but lonely, mother is about to shack-up with an abusive, drunken redneck–loathed by all. Karl is invited into their circle and his fondness for the boy and his mother deepens. Doyle, the pathetic redneck, eventually goes too far, and it’s up to Karl , again, to mete out justice; this time to save his little buddy’s innocence.
The whole movie seems inevitable, like watching a train wreck in slow motion. You know what’s going to happen, but you’re not about to look away. Like Frank, you enjoy listening to Karl talk, and you’ll enjoy all 2+ hours of this little movie.
By Mike Barkacs
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, John Ritter, JT Walsh, James Hampton, Robert Duvall, Lucas Black
Director: Billy Bob Thornton
