Sling Blade (1996)
Storyline
Karl Childers is a mentally disabled man who has been in the custody of the state mental hospital since the age of 12 for killing his mother and her lover. Although thoroughly institutionalized, Karl is deemed fit to be released into the outside world.
Directors
Cast
Trailer
Reviews
90
Film.com
The lure of Sling Blade is both elemental and hauntingly familiar, and I would not be surprised if Thornton's breakthrough film is one day considered a classic in its own right.
90
Chicago Reader
Perhaps the most remarkable thing here is Thornton's nuanced performance, but the film has other rare virtues: all the characters are fully and richly fleshed out (with some unexpected turns by John Ritter and singer Dwight Yoakam), and the story's construction is carefully measured.
90
Catches you up so firmly in its world that you find yourself accepting whatever Thornton presents right up to its deeply ironic finish.
90
Takes you down paths full of primitive, almost biblical implications, but it also finds comic relief in moments of palpable tension.
89
Thornton, who wrote, directed, and stars in Sling Blade, has created an unforgettable character and situation, a film that's sure to become an American classic.
