Stupid ain't as 'SlingBlade' does

By Brian Levinson

For a few years, the movie industry has subjected us to a string of films featuring heroes with the intellect of cream cheese. Of course, the most popular of these Great American Morons was the one and only, history-glossing, cliché-spouting, Academy-Award winning Forrest Gump. For a character that truly explores what it means to be different in American society, however, look not to Forrest in his too-cute, feel-good glory. Look to Karl, the mentally-deficient protagonist of Sling Blade.

Karl Childers is the anti-Gump. He's scary rather than huggable, and he hobbles oddly through rural Arkansas with his pants about six inches too high. His jaw is partially frozen in a gummy grimace. His speech and demeanor are full of strange, disturbing idiosyncrasies and a voice like an outboard engine. And instead of loving his Mama like good ol' Forrest, Karl, at age 12, lopped her head off with a machete.

What's terrific about Sling Blade is the fact that writer, director, and star Billy Bob Thornton makes us sympathize with, respect, and even like this very difficult man. Thornton's Academy Award-nominated performance lets the audience see that the introspective Karl is a far more unique human being than the Gump ever was--he is harder but more rewarding to root for.

Instead of meeting Karl in an angelic infancy, we find him at 40, about to be released from a nuthouse. With no place to go, he drifts back to his hometown, where he immediately befriends Frank (the excellent Lucas Black), a young boy and fellow tortured soul. Karl becomes the mentor Frank has lacked since his father's suicide, while Frank and his mother Linda (Natalie Canerday) provide the family Karl has never had. Karl soon gets a job fixing lawnmower engines and moves into Linda's garage.

Linda's boyfriend Doyle, however, is the variable in the equation. Effectively played by country singer Dwight Yokam, Doyle is an abusive, drunken, racist cracker. He hates Frank, and incessantly degrades the child to his face, calling him a "sissy-boy" (always a self-esteem builder for an 11-year-old). When Doyle first moves in with Linda, he tells Frank to "only speak when you're spoken to. And I ain't your daddy. You'll just act like I am."

John Ritter has a substantial role as Vaughan, Linda's manager at the dollar store. As a homosexual, Vaughan identifies with the misfit Karl, knowing all too well what life is like on the outside of society. Vaughan sincerely cares for both Linda and Frank, but the ever-tolerant Doyle constantly attempts to push him out of their lives. It's a great part, but John Ritter is a really bad actor. The looks of concern he directs toward the deeply troubled Karl are identical to those he'd give Janet when Chrissy was locked in the bathroom and Mr. Roper was coming over for dinner.

The rest of the supporting cast is excellent, including cameos from J.T. Walsh, independent director Jim Jarmusch (as a Dairy Queen counterboy), singer Vic Chesnutt, and, in one brief, powerful scene, famous bald guy Robert Duvall.

Billy Bob Thornton has created an excellent film. The script and characterizations brim with subtle humor and pathos, and the cineamatography, full of long takes, insufficient light, and brown scenery, reflects the slow darkness of the story. With painful honesty, Sling Blade shows that life is a lot more than a box of chocolates.

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