movie review - Sling Blade
the journal of Michael Werneburg
twenty-eight years and a million words
Toronto, 1997.03.23
This nasty little flick follows a convicted killer who returns to his home town, and returns to as normal a life as a mentally handicapped (or whatever the hell the appropriate term is this semi-decade) ex-con could hope for. He finds work as a small engine mechanic, makes friends, and finds a family of a kind. Then as the abusive bastard (played surprisingly well by Dwight Yokum) step-father in the family with whom he's boarding starts to ruin things. As the entire movie had suggested, our hero winds up sharpening a lawn-mower blade as the music glides through a crescendo.
Recommended. I liked the story, the characters, the dialog, the pace. It's not pleasant but it's a good watch.