Drama directed, written by and starring Billy Bob Thornton. Having killed his mother and her lover when he was 12, Karl Childers is eventually released back into the community after years in a mental institution. As he starts to make a new life for himself, Karl befriends a young boy, Frank Wheatley.
Developed from the short Some Call It a Sling Blade, this stately and shockingly moving drama brought debutant director Billy Bob Thornton to international attention. In addition to winning an Oscar for his screenplay, he also drew a best actor nomination for his mesmerising performance as hesitant, seemingly harmless handyman Karl Childers. It's a case of Norman Bates meeting Tennessee Williams in a sleepy Deep South hollow as Childers befriends a lonely boy on being released from the secure hospital where he'd been held for 25 years after murdering his mother and her beau. This is darkly comic, superbly acted and utterly compelling.
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Karl Childers | Billy Bob Thornton |
| Doyle Hargraves | Dwight Yoakam |
| Charles Bushman | J T Walsh |
| Vaughan Cunningham | John Ritter |
| Frank Wheatley | Lucas Black |
| Linda Wheatley | Natalie Canerday |
| Jerry Woolridge | James Hampton |
| Karl's father | Robert Duvall |
| Bill Cox | Rick Dial |
| Dairy Queen boy | Jim Jarmusch |
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Director | Billy Bob Thornton |
