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Sling Blade (1996)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:47
Fresh:45
Rotten:2
Average Rating:8.3/10
Consensus: You will see what's coming, but the masterful performances, especially Thornton's, will leave you riveted.
Synopsis: After catching his mother and her boyfriend "in flagrante delicto" and dispatching both of them with a farm implement known as a sling blade, a simpleminded 11-year-old boy is sent to a mental... After catching his mother and her boyfriend "in flagrante delicto" and dispatching both of them with a farm implement known as a sling blade, a simpleminded 11-year-old boy is sent to a mental hospital where he spends the next 25 years. Upon his release, the emotionally and mentally stunted man-child returns to his Arkansas hometown and takes a job in a local garage, only to have the past inexorably repeat itself. An indie-film triumph, adapted by star-writer-director Thornton from his 1993 short, "Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade." Academy Award Nominations: 2, including Best Actor--Billy Bob Thornton. Academy Awards: Best Adapted Screenplay. [More]
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Lucas Black, Dwight Yoakam, John Ritter
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Lucas Black, Dwight Yoakam, John Ritter, Natalie Canerday, Robert Duvall, Jim Jarmusch
Director: Billy Bob Thornton
Director: Billy Bob Thornton
Screenwriter: Billy Bob Thornton
Composer: Daniel Lanois
Producer: David L. Bushell, Brandon Rosser
Reviews for Sling Blade
Well acted, a multi-leveled story and a pure honesty make Sling Blade one of my favourite films of the 1990s.
Thornton brings three key ingredients to the table: distinctive, rich, authentic Southern locations, patient and painterly atmosphere, and a precise and fresh character to study. [Blu-ray]
Thornton offers a subtle, thoughtful script, generally sensitive direction, and an understated performance, uh-huh.
There will never be another film like Sling Blade. And I reckon we’ll have to live with that... Mmm-mmm.
These days Thornton is seen primarily as an actor, but with “Sling Blade” he proved a true auteur.
...a moving, poignant, humorous, chilling, and melancholic motion picture, with a bravura turn from its writer/director/star.
Sling Blade derives its power from Thornton's affecting characterization of Karl Childers.
There is almost nothing slipshod about the film and I suspect that it will only seem more impressive the further we get from the flurry of hype ...
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