The story of Sling Blade's making is well-known by now: Billy Bob Thornton writes a one-man show, makes a short film, then a low-budget feature film on his character of Karl Childers. From there, the film went to gross far more than it cost. Thornton wins an Oscar, goes overnight from obscurity to stardom, all for a film as well-constructed as a good game of baseball.
Sling Blade is the story of Childers, a man who isn't exactly mentally retarded, but who is different. At the age of 12, he killed his mother and her lover with the eponymous garden tool. The next 25 years he spends in institutions, but is eventually let out. Visiting his hometown, he befriends a boy, Frank Wheatley (Lucas Black), who is searching for a father figure. Frank's mother, Linda (Natalie Canerday) is a widow, barely scraping by, but trying to make a better life for her son. Other figures in his life include Linda's boss Vaughan (John Ritter) who is an outcast because of his homosexuality, and Doyle (Dwight Yoakam), Linda's horrific boyfriend.
Karl spends most of the movie as an observer to the actions of others. He sees how Doyle treats Linda, Frank, and Vaughan, and listens to everyone. People seem to naturally confide in Karl: Vaughan notes that Karl seems to always be deep in thought. Then, finally, in the final act of the film, Karl makes decisions that change everyone's life forever.
This film as been referred to by many as a dark Forrest Gump. Hardly: Gump is a passive character who falls into situations, falling out intact due to his remarkable serendipity. Childers is a doer. He may be simple, but he is clearly not childlike. Childers' love for Frank is far stronger than Gump's long-held crush for Jenny.
The performances are all real. Dwight Yoakam is a very scary creation as Doyle. The most frightening part of his performance is knowing that there really are thousands, maybe millions, of Doyles out there, far more dangerous than any institutionalized mentally-ill person. John Ritter plays against type as a gay outsider transplanted to the deep south. Ritter does not conform to any type. He is neither the "noble homosexual" (similar to the "noble savage" of decades past) nor a standard swishy "best friend" gay man, but a fully-rounded figure with his own neuroses, fears, and desires. Black is very good as the young boy. Whatever the current source of fine child actors and actresses is, I hope it doesn't dry up soon. Canerday is not up the the generally high level as Linda. Unfortunately, her character never seems to mesh with the others. Besides, how could such a decent woman as that attract such a rat as Doyle (rhetorical question)?
Thornton scores a triple crown, starring in, writing, and directing this feature. As an actor, he brings emotion, despite playing a character that is mostly inexpressive. As a writer, he sets the slow but inevitable pace of the film. As a director, he places the film in a sort of autumnal never-never land: to quote from a song, it's "that kind of September when life was slow, but, oh, so mellow." Life is short, and Childers lives his life to the fullest. A very fine movie. One of the best of 1996, just a notch below Lone Star.
Four stars
Copyright 1997 by Dale G. Abersold
