With Billy Bob Thornton’s recent trend of starring in piss-poor comedies where he’s nothing but an arrogant and abusive asshole, it’s easy to forget that the man can be an acting giant when he wants to be. Every now and then we get a glimpse of his talent with films like Monster Ball, but one of his most interesting films is by far the 1996 drama Sling Blade. In Sling Blade, Thornton not only proved his acting chops beyond any doubt, but he established himself as an Oscar-worthy screenwriter. If those two things aren’t enough to make you take a second long look at Billy Bob’s career then nothing will. However, for every two steps forward he takes with his writing and acting, his direction of the film suffers from spreading himself too thin.
Sling Blade takes a timely look at the issue of imprisoning the mentally disadvantaged; if a person doesn’t fully grasp the consequences of their actions, what sort of punishment should be exacted in exchange? Karl (Thornton) has lived in a center for the mentally handicapped ever since the fateful day he killed his mother with the help of a sling blade at the age of 12. His release has teetered on his vague and disconcerting responses to questions about whether or not he’ll ever kill again. “There’s no need to…” Karl responds and the issue just hangs in the air. Nevertheless, Karl is released and returns to his hometown – but not without a bit of consternation from the natives who have faint recollections of the 12-year-old version of Karl who committed the ghastly murders all those years ago.
Karl’s life begins anew when he lands a job as an auto-mechanic. As the days wind on he befriends a young boy named Frank Wheatley (Lucas Black) and eventually his mother Linda (Natalie Canerday). His interactions with Frank and Linda prove to be of great help to Karl’s mental state as he has good and bad days cued by flashbacks of when his life changed forever. But the benefits of his time spent with them come to a crashing end when he meets Doyle (Dwight Yoakam), Linda’s abusive boyfriend. Karl’s past becomes gradually more apparent and the parallel between events past and present would seem to suggest Karl is destined to repeat his violent act to protect the ones he’s come to love.
Performances in Sling Blade are top-notch with Billy Bob Thornton giving one of his best ever. After hearing Karl’s cadence you’ll be hard-pressed to ever forget it. Not to cheapen the praise for Thornton’s portrayal of Karl, but it’s hard not to recall the “never go full-retard” speech from Tropic Thunder and then realize that Thornton may be the exception to the rule. The true scope of Karl’s mental impairment seems to vary somewhat slightly as the film goes on, but his inability to make integral connections makes his persona one of alienated distance and yet tenderness. There’s no question that Karl has the capacity for love, but few people are willing to return the sentiment thanks to Karl’s odd appearance and severely slowed speech. Dwight Yoakam and Natalie Canerday also fill out their parts with the two never playing a simple two-dimensional representation of abusive hick or victimized single mother; the two both bring a full personality to their roles.
The drawback I just can’t seem to ignore is that Thornton’s direction of the film seems to have suffered from having to give his attention to so many different aspects. I’ve always felt that films where actors both starred and directed inevitably suffered from a lack of attention in one field or another, and Sling Blade is no different. While generally consistent in evoking great performances from his actors, Thornton loses track of the film’s pace and consequently it comes to a screeching halt more than once leaving the audience fidgeting with a temptation to move on to a new movie. But Thornton is quick to pick up the pace and repair the damage, but for some it might be too large a breach to repair.
The video transfer helps Sling Blade immensely and the countryside setting looks beautiful. The change in audio however isn’t really notable.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
There’s a lot to be absorbed here. Billy Bob Thornton volunteers his time for a feature length commentary and a series of interviews starring him and various cast and crew like Robert Duvall and composer Daniel Lanois. The conversation with Thornton and Duvall definitely deserves a watch as the two men together create an interesting dynamic. After that there’s a large number of production featurettes and a few deserved profile pieces on Thornton. Even if you aren’t swept away by the film’s steady story of a redeemed soul, the extra features are about as interesting and in-depth as you could ask from a film of its caliber.
"Sling Blade" is on sale August 4, 2009 and is rated R. Drama. Written and directed by Billy Bob Thornton. Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Robert Duvall, Natalie Canerday, Lucas Black, Dwight Yoakam.
