Movie Description After catching his mother and her boyfriend "in flagrante delicto" and dispatching both of them with a farm implement known as a sling blade, a simpleminded 11-year-old boy is sent to a mental hospital where he spends the next 25 years. Upon his release, the emotionally and mentally stunted man-child returns to his Arkansas hometown and takes a job in a local garage, only to have the past inexorably repeat itself. An indie-film triumph, adapted by star-writer-director Thornton from his 1993 short, "Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade." Academy Award Nominations: 2, including Best Actor--Billy Bob Thornton. Academy Awards: Best Adapted Screenplay.
| Credits | | Producer: | Brandon Rosser, David L. Bushell | | Cast: | Dwight Yoakam, Natalie Canerday |
Editorial Reviews "...A beautiful contraption of a movie....[SLING BLADE] haunts us..." -- Rating: A- Gleiberman
"...Marked by some powerful scenes, fine performances and colorful dialogue....Yoakam is excellent..." Variety - Todd McCarthy (09/09/1996)
"...A mesmerizing parable of good and evil and a splendid example of Southern storytelling at its most poetic and imaginative..." Los Angeles Times - Kevin Thomas (11/27/1996)
"...The movie is a work of great originality and fascination....[The] characters are brought to life with a vivid strength..." Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (11/27/1996)
Awards 1996Academy AwardsBest Adapted ScreenplayBilly Bob Thornton
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