ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 28, 1997 TAG: 9703280043
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: MOVIE REVIEW
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO THE ROANOKE TIMES
"Slingblade" is a defiantly low-budget descendant of "To Kill a Mockingbird" that deserves the Oscar it won for writer, director and star Billy Bob Thornton.
Even in the crazy world of Hollywood, it's astonishing that Billy Bob Thornton's Southern Gothic screenplay won an Academy Award over such sophisticated competition as Anthony Minghella's "The English Patient."
It's astonishing but appropriate. This defiantly low-budget, understated independent feature comes from good stock. In style and substance, "Slingblade" is a direct cinematic descendant of "To Kill a Mockingbird."
Thornton, who also directs and stars in the film, tells the story of Karl Childers.
Karl is a somewhat retarded man who's been in a mental institution for 25 years. As an adolescent, he committed a horrible crime, but his doctors have decided that he's no longer a danger to anyone. They release him to the same little Arkansas town where he spent an unhappy childhood.
The first person he meets is young Frank Whitley (Lucas Black), a lonely boy who likes Karl and intuitively understands him. In his own slow, halting way, Karl makes a place for himself in the community. He gets a job working on small engines - Karl's always been good at that - and meets Frank's mother, Linda (Natalie Canerday); her gay boss, Vaughan (John Ritter); and her boyfriend, Doyle (Dwight Yoakam).
Doyle is an instantly recognizable redneck bully whose list of dislikes includes antiques, midgets, homosexuals and retards. Doyle may be the most blatant problem Karl will have to overcome, but he's not the only one.
Thornton lets Karl set the pace for the whole film, and Karl never hurries. He thinks before he speaks and when he speaks, he speaks slowly, often pausing for low, throaty growls. His fastest run is a lumbering trot that children can easily overtake.
Audiences looking for uptempo action that pushes the story along will be squirming in their seats before the first scene is over. As a director, Thornton doesn't make it any easier with severely naturalistic lighting that often leaves 90 percent of the screen in impenetrable shadow. The characters seldom face the camera, either, further distancing them from the viewer.
It's clear that Thornton is using those techniques deliberately. He wants you to work, to become actively involved with his story, not simply to sit back and receive it. And he's successful. He also gets the details of that small town world right, from the cluttered rooms to the soft accents to the limited horizons.
The characters are the real point of the film, though. In "One False Move," the wonderful 1992 video sleeper that he wrote and starred in, Thornton showed how deeply he understands these people, the places they choose to live in and passions that drive them. He's gone a step beyond that now with a simpler story and more compelling characters. In their own way, Karl and Frank are Boo Radley and Scout.
"Slingblade" doesn't have the larger social dimension of "To Kill a Mockingbird" but it's just as powerful.
Slingblade
****
A Miramax release playing at the Grandin Theatre. 134 minutes. Rated R for subject matter, strong language, some violence.
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: "Slingblade" tells of a retarded man who's been in anby CNBinstitution for 25 years after committing a horrible crime. color.