sling_blade

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© Miramax.All Rights Reserved.

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© Miramax.All Rights Reserved.

When someone puts their loved ones into a situation in which there is danger and the threat of injury, that person creates a situation in which something terrible can happen.

This is a film that, on the surface, seems to be about a mentally retarded man who tries to adjust to living in his home town after being in a mental hospital for years. On a deeper level the film is about the people who befriend him and their struggle to cope with an abusive alcoholic.

Carl is befriended by several decent people who are willing to give him a chance, although he is retarded and had been institutionalized for 30 years after killing his mother and her lover when he was thirteen years old. From what he says, from his behavior, and from the recommendation of a doctor from the hospital, Carl no longer seems to be dangerous. And in normal situations he is not . He is a nice person. The tragedy of this film happens because he makes friends with a boy and the boy's mother who place Carl in a situation for which he is not only unprepared but in which his friends are not capable of handling themselves. The mother has a boyfriend who is a mean drunk who abuses those around him. She tolerates the intolerable. Her son cannot stand the man, in fact hates him. He wants to kill the boyfriend. Carl tells him that it is wrong to think that. But the situation gets worse and worse. No one wants to see what is happening and that Carl is like a open can of gasoline sitting by a hot stove.

People who have relationships with others who are abusive often blind themselves to what is happening, not just to them, but to those they love. By staying in these relationships they not only hurt themselves but those that are close to them, especially children who are dependent and unable to defend themselves. These are also people who often do not want to see the risks in other things that they might do.

Sling Blade is a film not only about living with danger but about love.

Available from Buena Vista Home Video
Rated R by MPAA for strong language, including descriptions of violent and sexual behavior.