Every once in a while you see a movie that takes you completely by surprise, and for me, "Sling Blade" was one of those movies. Aside from his amazing performance as Lorne Malvo in FX's Fargo Season One, I thought Billy Bob Thornton was nothing special, but he always turned in performances that could be considered decent. Nothing I've ever seen him do prepared me for this film.
I'm going out on a limb to say this is Thornton's best movie; he adapted it from a play he wrote, he stars in it, and he directs it- it's his show, and he freaking kills it in every aspect. Even when he's just sitting around staring at the ground, awkwardly trying to avoid eye contact with other characters, Thornton is the center of this story, and this story, while perhaps a bit predictable and sometimes a little slow, is a story that deserves to be seen by many people.
I'm going out on a limb to say this is Thornton's best movie; he adapted it from a play he wrote, he stars in it, and he directs it- it's his show, and he freaking kills it in every aspect. Even when he's just sitting around staring at the ground, awkwardly trying to avoid eye contact with other characters, Thornton is the center of this story, and this story, while perhaps a bit predictable and sometimes a little slow, is a story that deserves to be seen by many people.