Film Analysis Essay on Sling Blade: A Serious Movie by Billy Bob Thornton

Introduction

Sling Blade is a film that was written in 1996, and it's starring director is Billy Bob Thornton. It is not an easy movie to watch. This is because the movie's subject matter is a serious one, and each moment of the film nears to have either intense emotions or have a perfect pace such that the play of the movie is so overwhelming and has hanging anxiety all the time. In the film, Thornton has directed the matter of channeling Karl, who is a simple-minded man released from the Arkansas hospital after 25 years. This is because he killed his mother and her lover when he was 12 years old when he thought that his mother was being raped. So he picked up a sling blade and helped his mother by killing the rapist. Therefore, it is intense, deliberate, and hypnotic that when people are watching the movie, they get an experience of being physically exhausted.

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The movie begins with a monologue of Karl telling out his story straight to the camera. He narrates how he had a rough childhood story where his parents kept him in a shed, and he slept in a hole. He is a disabled man with an overshot jaw; a lot of pain is seen in his eyes and has a raspy voice, which motivates the listeners to listen to his childhood story. Thornton uses the character Karl as a man with limited intelligence, but so severe who has reasonable acts and feels everything he does genuinely. Karl is characterized by humor, pain, sweetness, and irony. His manner and voice are so distinctive; therefore, he is memorable and the best character in the movie. The way Karl's story of freedom unfolds itself in the film is fascinating. People can guess the next action to be taken and how the activities cannot be changed.

When Karl is released from the mental institution, he is less or more to loose the ends, and he is lucky to get a job as a mechanic at the garage. He encounters Frank, who is a young boy, and befriends him, where he senses that the boy might be having a wounded spirit. Later, Karl meets Linda, who is frank's mother who has a good heart and accepts him as one of them in the garage quarters. Karl meets Doyle, who is Linda's boyfriend, and understands the reason as to why Frank has a wounded spirit. Doyle is a man who lounges in the living room, only one longneck beer with loud ruling and annoying opinions. The way he criticizes treats and hates Frank is so cruel.

Another character in the movie is Linda's boss and a best friend, Vaughan. He is a man who is homosexual and accepts it with some apologies. It is difficult to understand why Linda lives in such a situation with venomous Doyle, but maybe it a battered-wife syndrome version, and she cannot imagine herself leaving. The settlement of Karl in the house gives him some taste of freedom. He is no sure how the world aspects work, but he can make new friends, repair everything that is handed to him, and eats ordered French fries on his adventures. Thornton brings out his movie characters to live through vivid strength. Linda's outside life is seen through the eyes of Karl, which is viewed in the literary way and trial of making sense from it. From inside, Vaughan's eyes have been used as a homosexual who is similar to Karl and the only witness, although he feels the pain.

The movie's destination can be guessed, but guaranteed satisfaction is felt when we arrive there. At the end of all, people came to know and understand and fond Karl in reality. Karl is a character who is not like others in the movie who is original, and when Thornton created him, he made himself the best place among all the new filmmakers. Thornton, as an actor, he has created a hard character, and he finds out the best and right way for him to play.

The movie shows how the family is everything and supportive or not supportive it can be. When Karl comes out of jail, he has an opportunity to choose the family he wants. Another thing that the movie holds is friendship. It shows that it is hard to find a good friend. Frank acts as a good friend at his tender age of 11 years when he befriends a snaring, limping man, which means that the friendship is running deep. Also, freedom and commitment is another thing that is seen in the movie. When Karl is realized, he finds out his freedom to do other things that he was limited while he was in the mental institution.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Sling Blade is a movie that shows there is no redemptive violence and no such good things. The violent acts in the film have been used to add the fund of loss, hurt, and pain in the world. It is also one of the best independent movies with no doubts with almost perfect combinations of a substantial written script that has a focused direction and solid performances, which are down even in the smallest role accompanied by beautiful cinematography. It is a film that begs people to watch for the ones who have respect for the filmmaking craft. It is exhilarating yet exhausting, numbing, but also powerful, and insightful but yet troubling. It is a film that people cannot embrace but cannot be forgotten.

References

Propes, R. (2014). The independent critic of single blade. Retrieved from. https://www.theindependentcritic.com/sling_blade

Thornton, B.B. (1996). Sling Blade: A screenplay (p. 160) Miramax Books/Hyperion