Billy Bob Thornton can make a withdrawn man's few words worth waiting for. We value the patience and dark humour of Sling Blade, though his directing sometimes gives a scene more time than it needs.
Fi1m perspective
In Sling Blade (1996), Karl Childers has to work at an ordinary conversation, and Thornton makes that effort visible. We were moved by Karl's uncertain exchanges with other people: speaking a few words can seem an achievement. The performance asks for sustained attention, but Thornton gives us enough to notice that the silence never feels empty.
Thornton also wrote and directed the film, and his handling of the other actors matters as much as Karl's reserve. Lucas Black's Frank Wheatley and Natalie Canerday's Linda Wheatley have an ease that lets his more conspicuous performance settle into the company. John Ritter brings warmth to Vaughan Cunningham without asking us to approve of him. Thornton allows these people to be funny without making their differences the whole joke, although the screenplay does not give them all the attention they deserve.
The writing had already mattered in One False Move (1992), which he co-wrote and starred in before Sling Blade brought his breakthrough. Leading and supporting parts followed, including the nervous Jacob Mitchell in A Simple Plan (1998) and the stoic Ed Crane in the Coen brothers' The Man Who Wasn't There (2001). These are useful reminders that his restraint can serve different kinds of men. Directing became occasional, with All the Pretty Horses (2000) among the films he took on.
The danger is being hired simply to be unpleasant. Bad Santa (2003), with Thornton as the profane Willie Soke, fits the abrasive outsider casting that followed his early success. Television later gave him the cold hitman Lorne Malvo in Fargo (2014), another use for his ability to suggest menace without much outward effort.
Our reservation about Thornton the director is there in Sling Blade, too: affection for these people occasionally keeps a scene going after its point is clear. We would happily lose some of the running time without losing any of the company. The dark humour helps, particularly when Dwight Yoakam's forceful Doyle Hargraves changes the pace. Start with Sling Blade, provided a few overlong conversations do not put you off.
Biography
Billy Bob Thornton is an American actor, screenwriter and director. He wrote, directed and starred as Karl Childers in the 1996 film Sling Blade, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He also wrote and appeared as Ray Malcolm in the 1992 film One False Move.
Thornton was born on 4 August 1955 in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He gained early recognition in films including Tombstone (1993) and later appeared in Armageddon (1998), Love Actually (2003) and Bad Santa (2003). He has also worked in television, including a role in the 2014 series Fargo.
