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Sling Blade

1996 · 135 min

A quiet, unsettling Southern drama that builds slowly toward a moral reckoning, mixing tenderness with dread.

Directed by
Billy Bob Thornton
Genres
Drama
Starring
Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, J.T. Walsh
Tagline
A simple man. A difficult choice.
Overview
Karl Childers, a mentally disabled man, has been in the custody of the state mental hospital since the age of 12 for killing his mother and her lover. Although thoroughly institutionalized, he is deemed fit to be released into the outside world.

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Buy in the UK
  • Apple TV Store
More options Data from JustWatch
Directed by
Billy Bob Thornton
Genres
Drama
Starring
Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, J.T. Walsh
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • melancholicstrength 3 of 3
  • darkstrength 2 of 3
  • warmstrength 2 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • isolation
  • found family
  • redemption
  • morality
  • trauma
Places
  • small town
  • home
  • workplace
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
None
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror3
Humour3
Realism8
Romance1
Tension6
Darkness7
Complexity6
Emotional weight8

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Where to watch in the UK

Buy
  • Apple TV Store

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
drama
Directed by
Billy Bob Thornton
Written by
Billy Bob Thornton
Starring
Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, J.T. Walsh, John Ritter, Lucas Black, Natalie Canerday, James Hampton, Robert Duvall
Music
Daniel Lanois
Cinematography
Barry Markowitz
Runtime
135 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English

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