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Sling Blade

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7.5/10 • 809

1996-08-302h 15m

Drama

A simple man. A difficult choice.

Karl Childers, a mentally disabled man, 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, he is deemed fit to be released into the outside world.

Directors
Billy Bob Thornton
Editors
Hughes Winborne

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Billy Bob Thornton

    Billy Bob Thornton

    Karl Childers

  2. Dwight Yoakam

    Dwight Yoakam

    Doyle Hargraves

  3. J. T. Walsh

    J. T. Walsh

    Charles Bushman

  4. John Ritter

    John Ritter

    Vaughan Cunningham

  5. Lucas Black

    Lucas Black

    Frank Wheatley

  6. Natalie Canerday

    Natalie Canerday

    Linda Wheatley

  7. James Hampton

    James Hampton

    Jerry Woolridge

  8. Robert Duvall

    Robert Duvall

    Karl's Father

  9. Rick Dial

    Rick Dial

    Bill Cox

Reviews2

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Wuchak Avatar

Wuchak

Dec 31, 2019

6/10

When a murderer is the likable protagonist, mmm-hmm A simple, slow, seemingly pensive man (Billy Bob Thornton) is released from a mental hospital in central Arkansas after 30 years and gets a job fixing lawnmowers. He makes friends with a boy & his mother (Natalie Canerday) and they let him live in their garage, but the mother’s abusive boyfriend presents a problem (Dwight Yoakam). John Ritter is on hand as the mother’s gay best friend. "Sling Blade" (1996) is a small town drama with a memorable central character (if I didn’t know beforehand that Thornton played the role, I wouldn’t have recognized him). The characters and their situations smack of real life while the unhurried story is interesting enough. There are well-done moments of meditation and revelation, as well as touching ones. It’s a tad overlong, however, and the politically correct glorification of Vaughan (Ritter) is eye-rolling. Karl (Thornton) observes that “The Bible says two men ought not lay together. But I don't reckon the Good Lord would send anybody like you to Hades.” Yet his opining doesn’t mean much since he candidly acknowledges elsewhere that he doesn’t understand a lot of the Scriptures, not to mention his foolish predilection for murder to solve mundane problems. He should stick to fixing lawnmowers and eating them French fried potaters, mmm-hmm. The film runs 2 hours, 15 minutes, and was shot in Benton & nearby Haskell, Arkansas, which are about 20-30 minutes southwest of Little Rock. GRADE: B-

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
$1,200,000.00
Revenue
$34,100,000.00
Keywords
arkansasrepair shopsoutherndeath threatreligious artfather figureintellectual disability