Sling Blade

A story that's startling, soulful and absolutely unforgettable. Read full review

Who is Billy Bob Thornton? The question fascinates after seeing Sling Blade, the extraordinary first film that he wrote and directed and in which he plays the leading role. [Feb. 10, 1997]

The atmosphere is Southern Gothic pure enough to do Carson McCullers proud -- grotesque, sentimental and dankly nasty -- and Thornton manages not to undermine his own writing. Read full review

Sling Blade is about a society barely holding on by its fingernails, the home and hearth hardly a place of respite. Unlike "The Ice Storm" or "The Sweet Hereafter," Sling Blade is devoid of the creature comforts of middle-class life that at least allow people the degraded hobbies that keep them functioning. [May, 1998]

Like the eloquent, darkly funny dialogue, the film's characters, setting and cadences draw us into its world, with all its terrors and tenderness. What emerges is a masterpiece of Southern storytelling that draws a sharp line between good and evil. Read full review

It's a beautiful contraption of a movie, a gothic backwoods fable that uses its naive yet murderous hero to walk a fine line between sentimentality and dread.

The lure of Sling Blade is both elemental and hauntingly familiar, and I would not be surprised if Thornton's breakthrough film is one day considered a classic in its own right.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing here is Thornton's nuanced performance, but the film has other rare virtues: all the characters are fully and richly fleshed out (with some unexpected turns by John Ritter and singer Dwight Yoakam), and the story's construction is carefully measured. Read full review

Catches you up so firmly in its world that you find yourself accepting whatever Thornton presents right up to its deeply ironic finish. Read full review

Takes you down paths full of primitive, almost biblical implications, but it also finds comic relief in moments of palpable tension. Read full review

Sling Blade is perhaps the year's most impressive debut because it is an uncompromisingly told tale with a minimum of frills. Read full review

Thornton, who wrote, directed, and stars in Sling Blade, has created an unforgettable character and situation, a film that's sure to become an American classic. Read full review

There is pain, humor, irony and sweetness in the character, and a voice and manner so distinctive, he is the most memorable movie character I've seen in a long time. Read full review

Resonates like the best of Southern fiction. Read full review

What evolves among them is a kind of realistic fairy tale, sustained by the sweet gravity and guttural, deadpan minimalism of Thornton's performance. Read full review

(Thornton) proves his mettle as an actor, writer and director with this bleakly comic and surprisingly tender movie.

Marked by some powerful scenes, fine performances and colorful dialogue, this talented directorial debut by actor-writer Billy Bob Thornton has its effectiveness diluted by serious overlength and a rather monotonous, unmodulated tone. Read full review

(Thornton) does a remarkable job in all three categories, but what you're likely to remember most clearly is his performance.

A remarkably moving and disturbing film about the possibility of belonging and the genealogy of violence. Read full review

Thornton has written himself the role of a lifetime, yet he plays Karl with neither condescension nor saintliness.

Builds slowly but passionately, not dancing to some Hollywood tune, but finding its characters where they are and letting them be who they are. Read full review

Billy Bob Thornton wrote, directed and stars in this compassionate, occasionally funny, character-driven movie about a mentally unstable man who takes the best interests of children very seriously. Read full review

The narrative is little more than a flimsy envelope -- it's the men and women who are sealed within that make Sling Blade worth watching. Read full review

It's Thornton's rough and nuanced performance as Karl, not his modest filmmaking skills, that sucks you so quickly into Sling Blade's vortex. Read full review

I can't help thinking, though, that maybe Thornton was too ambitious in trying to wear three hats. Read full review

Thornton is sadly affecting in the film's central role. Read full review