Sling Blade
Sling Blade Image
Metascore
84 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 26 Critics What's this?

User Score
9.2 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 48 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
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  • Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam
  • Summary: A southern gothic tale about a man named Karl (Thornton), who's just been released from an asylum -- some 25 years after he committed a gruesome crime. He returns to the southern town of his youth, where his quiet, gentle manner and simple charm land him a job and lead him to an unlikely friendship with a young boy (Black) and his widowed mother. When the mother's abusive boyfriend appears, however, this simple man is thrust into a combustible dilemma that has powerful, moving consequences for all. (Miramax Films)… Collapse

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
  1. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Christopher Sharrett
    100
    Sling Blade is about a society barely holding on by its fingernails, the home and hearth hardly a place of respite. Unlike "The Ice Storm" or "The Sweet Hereafter," Sling Blade is devoid of the creature comforts of middle-class life that at least allow people the degraded hobbies that keep them functioning. [May, 1998]
    All this publication's reviews
  2. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Edward Guthmann
    100
    A story that's startling, soulful and absolutely unforgettable.
  3. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Paul Malcolm
    80
    A remarkably moving and disturbing film about the possibility of belonging and the genealogy of violence.
  4. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Elvis Mitchell
    60
    Thornton is sadly affecting in the film's central role.

See all 26 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 31
  3. Negative: 0 out of 31
  1. KenF.
    10
    Absolutely amazing movie.
  2. SteveW
    10
    This is an unforgettable movie. The story very engaging and powerful. Thortons performance is just amazing, and the movie is just put together really well. I was still thinking about this movie days after watching it.… Expand
  3. ScottW
    10
    This is one of the best movies I have ever seen in my life, and I am 51! It stirred every single emotion I have. Everything about it was superb! It baffles me that this movie has not made any TOP lists that I have seen.… Expand
  4. Compi24
    8
    Featuring (quite possibly) Billy Bob Thornton's best performance in a film, "Sling Blade" is a simple, yet emotive drama with as much humor as it has heart.… Expand

See all 31 User Reviews

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