Sunday, December 6, 2009

Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade

Released: 1994

Reviewed: 11.28.09
Star rating: 3 out of 5

Billy Bob Thornton (Karl), Molly Ringwald (Teresa), J.T. Walsh (Charles), Jefferson Mays (Gerry), Suzanne Cryer (Frances).

This is the short film by Thornton created to get backing for the full length movie, SlingBlade. Shot in black-and-white, it is a quick glimpse at the extremity of Karl Childers. Teresa comes to prison on the day Karl is to be released to do an interview with him. Conditions of the interview quickly raise the question whether Karl is truly ready to be released back into the public.

I'm not going to spend much time on this one as it is only 25 minutes in length. If you have never seen SlingBlade and aren't sure if you want to, this would be a good taste to help you decide. If you have seen SlingBlade already, pass on this as you have already seen it all.

Ringwald was an interesting choice for the reporter and I think I'm glad she wasn't in the full length film. Although she does well, she just doesn't seem to play opposite Thornton very well. Walsh is still a great choice and plays a nutball very well.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed the gritty feel of this short-film shot in low quality black-and-white with minimal sets, backgrounds, effects, makeup, or costuming.

No foul language I recall, no nudity or sexuality, and no violence. The only concern here might be the verbal descriptions Karl gives of a murder he committed so no real age restrictions on this one.

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