Before Angelina, the vials of blood and that radio station outburst, Billy Bob Thornton crafted one of film’s most indelible characters.
Karl, the mentally challenged survivor at the heart of 1996’s “Sling Blade” remains Thornton’s finest hour, a thoroughly original invention requiring the actor to transform himself without CGI or heavy makeup.
The character also established Thornton as a major talent, a writer/director with chameleon-like skills and an ability to tap the soul of the South like few of his peers.
Thornton’s career hasn’t quite evolved as hoped, what with follow-up directorial stiffs (“All the Pretty Horses”) and paycheck features (“Mr. Woodcock,” “School for Scoundrels”) obscuring his gifts.
The Blu-ray release of “Sling Blade,” available Aug. 4, resets the record and gives movie fans more information about the film than they could possibly demand.
Thornton stars as Karl, a man-child about to be released from a “nervous hospital.” He’s pronounced fit to return to society, but one look at Karl tells you something else. Thornton, who also wrote and directed “Sling Blade,” brilliantly establishes the danger within Karl during those opening moments.
A student journalist interviews Karl on the day of his release, and his methodical account of the crimes that sent him away foreshadow the story set to unfold.
Karl quickly finds work at a mechanic’s shop – he’s a whiz with gears and gadgets – and strikes up a friendship with a local boy named Frank (Lucas Black). Frank’s mother is kind enough to let Karl stay with them, but that only exposes Karl to Doyle (Dwight Yoakam), her abusive, foul-mouthed beau.
“Sling Blade” builds toward an inevitably violent conclusion, but it also follows the emotional growth of a man who seems unable to process the world around him.
Hardly. Karl represents both the savagery of the unsophisticated mind and the innocence that comes along with it.
If “Sling Blade” has a palpable flaw, it’s in just how much Karl matures throughout the story. By the final reel he’s downright philosophical, and it plays out in ways that might make sense to Thornton the screenwriter but requires more than a few gulps to swallow.
Thornton is sensational here, so invested in Karl’s every twitch you never see so much as a flash of the actor behind it. Co-star John Ritter, playing a gentle gay man trying to protect Frank’s family from Doyle, gives the performance of his too-short film career.
The disk’s extras include a commentary track by Thornton and group interviews with the star/director, Yoakam and Robert Duvall, who contributes a small but potent cameo on the film. We also get an exhaustive look at Thornton’s life and career.
What’s missing is “Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade,” the short that preceded the landmark film.
(Photo: Billy Bob Thornton earned an Oscar nomination for playing the mentally challenged Karl in “Sling Blade.”/Courtesy of Miramax)
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
This is one of my absolute favorites. Touching, brilliantly acted, gentle yet compelling, funny and melancholy, underrated by not obtaining masterpiece status amongst mainstream critics. I hail from the South originally and I’m always astounded by how well Thornton nails the tone of the people and setting. Produces tears from me without fail.
On paper, Thornton’s Karl is Oscar catnip … how did he not win? It’s great in all the obvious ways – and the small moments, too. The soundtrack really struck me watching it again …
Not certain, but perhaps with “Forrest Gump” fresh in people’s memories, handing the Oscar to another actor for a performance as mentally challenged wasn’t gonna happen. Come to think of it, this would have made a good addition to that monologue in “Tropic Thunder.”
I wish BBT would write and direct a new script. These days he seems to be hired to reprise his “Bad Santa” role over and over again, with him looking increasingly bored with each go.
this is a great film i bought the special edition that came out a few years back and it was great. i might have to pick this up on blu-ray for the image upgrade.