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Sling Blade (1996)
Rate:
10
Viewed:
7/18
7/18:
Sling Blade was one of those movies that I hadn't come around to seeing until now in spite of its enormous
reputation.
Afterwards, I was left immensely impressed. This one should've won Best Picture. The performances are uniformly
excellent, and they've all made the film absorbing to watch. Several of them deserved to be Oscar-nominated as well.
Billy Bob Thornton is a quality filmmaker. What a surprise he didn't win the Oscar for Best Actor (it went to
Shine's Geoffrey Rush instead). I couldn't recognize him in the film. For his Oscar-winning
screenplay which was based on a short film called Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade, there's a nice story as taken
from IMDb:
"Billy Wilder once told Billy Bob Thornton that he was 'too ugly' to be an actor, and that he should write a screenplay for
himself, where he could exploit his 'less than perfect' features. After this movie launched Thornton's career, Thornton
publicly discussed his conversation with Wilder, which was at a cocktail party where Thornton was working as a waiter.
Thornton got a call from Wilder, who invited him over to his house. Wilder said he didn't recall the conversation with
Thornton, but was glad that he heeded his advice. As a gift, Wilder gave Thornton a paperback copy of this movie's script
with his autograph, and a personal message inscribed on it."
Lucas Black is a natural, having developed a good rapport with Billy Bob Thornton. I've always thought John Ritter was a
decent actor, and he has surprised me a lot in this by extending his range and is therefore outstanding. Rounding
out the rest are James Hampton, Natalie Canerday, Rick Dial, Dwight Yoakam, and J.T. Walsh. Showing a mix of dumb and (more of)
intelligence, Karl Childers will live forever as one of the great icons in cinema. It's hard to forget the six-minute scene
when he recounted his life story which has to be one of the finest ways to introduce a character.
Now, I'm beginning to see where The Apostle got its start by borrowing some elements
and players from Sling Blade. Rick Dial and Billy Bob Thornton made their appearances in the former which was
written, directed, and produced by Robert Duvall. If there's anything I'm disappointed with, it's the murder. I wish the
movie was just about the characters and nothing more. Karl Childers was doing fine by adjusting to his new life.
All in all, if there's only one film in Billy Bob Thornton's oeuvre to choose from, you must make it Sling Blade.