ViewGuide

Created Jun 21, 2012 11:57PM PST • Edited Sep 05, 2014 01:54AM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Really Great 4.5

   An American classic, Billy Bob Thornton’s Sling Blade rings true to small town norms and values. Most of its characters are good people, to Thornton’s credit as the movie’s writer, director and star, and son of small town Arkansas himself. The two bad ones trigger well crafted drama that feels true-to-life even though it’s extreme by normal measures.

   Thornton won a well deserved Oscar for his masterful screenplay, was nominated for another in the Best Actor category, and established himself as a major Hollywood player as a result.

   He deserved the acclaim. Sling Blade’s many affecting moments trigger several man-cries. You know the kind: those triggered by selfless fraternal or parental action. Sling Blade’s got ’em, so make sure the light is low when you watch it.

4. Acting

   Great 4.0

   Billy Bob Thornton’s creation ranks up there with Forrest Gump, another American simpleton whose frank utterances reflected us, and whose odd vocal mannerisms become soothing and lovable. Unlike Tom Hanks’ signature character, Thornton’s creation (does anyone remember that his name is Karl Childers?) is darker, someone prone to violence.

   His cast-mates are good to great, though it would still be Thornton’s movie even if he didn’t write and direct it.

   • Dwight Yoakam’s performance as an abusive redneck proved two things. He can act, and he’s not very attractive without his signature cowboy hat.
   • J.T. Walsh is oily great as a loquacious serial killer.
   • John Ritter is a revelation as a gay man making his way in a small town.
   • Lucas Black, then age 14, is touching and effective as a fatherless boy.
   • Natalie Canerday is adequate as his Mom.
   • James Hampton as the kindly head of a residential facility for the criminally insane. Viewers of a certain age will recognize Hampton as Hannibal Dobbs, the inept bugler from F Troop.
   • Rick Dial as the good-hearted owner of a lawnmower repair shop.
   • Robert Duvall cameos as a bad man grown old.

5. Male Stars Perfect 5.0

6. Female Stars Good 3.0

7. Female Costars Very Good 3.5

8. Male Costars Great 4.0

10. Film

    Really Great 4.5

    Simple brilliance set in middle America makes Sling Blade an American classic. Its poignance runs deep.

    The well-known story about a retarded man’s release into society after a quarter-century’s institutionalization provides ample opportunity to essay the quiet charity of small town people, even as bad actors live among them. Locked up as a young boy for murder, the hero encounters his small Arkansas home town as a stranger in a familiar land. Befriending a fatherless boy, he becomes a treasured member of an ad hoc modern family, for whom he eventually becomes an avenging angel.

11. Direction Really Great 4.5

12. Play Perfect 5.0

13. Music Very Good 3.5

14. Visuals Great 4.0
15. Content

16. Edge

    Risqué 2.0

    Heinous violence described in vivid detail makes Sling Blade a movie for those with strong stomachs.

17. Sex Innocent 1.5

18. Violence Fierce 2.0

19. Rudeness Profane 2.6

21. Reality

    Glib 1.4

22. Circumstantial Glib 1.7

23. Biological Glib 1.5

24. Physical Natural 1.0