KARL: Mister, don't you never lay another hand on that boy. Karl stands up to Doyle, literally coming between him and Frank. Doyle is emotionally abusive to Frank and threatens to be physically abusive. Karl takes "big brother" as his primary role, and he sees Frank's mom's boyfriend Doyle as his nemesis. But with Frank, Karl explores what it's like to be a big brother and caretaker. Growing up in a literal hole behind his parents' house, Karl only had to take care of himself. And Karl is lucky enough to find Frank, a young boy who is both a friend and a younger brother to him. He likes it a little because even in terrible places like Nickelback, you can find good people. It's overwhelming, out of control, and a little scary, but maybe-just maybe-he kinda likes it. For Karl, it's like being a deaf man who not only can suddenly hear, but is also dropped into a Nickelback concert for his first auditory experience.
SLING BLADE MOVIE
The movie actually begins when Karl is released from the mental hospital back into the new world. Does that make him hypocritical? Or does it all make sense within Karl's narrow view of the world? A Whole New WorldĮverything we've talked about so far takes place before the movie begins.
SLING BLADE FULL
He does it again at the end of the film, committing a crime with the full knowledge that he'll do the time for it. We reckon that Karl is someone who doles out punishment, but who also takes the punishment he is given. KARL: I reckon the reason I'm in here is 'cause I killed somebody. So Karl, as a child, accepted his punishment when he was committed to a mental hospital. Looks like Karl broke one commandment in order to punish someone for breaking another. Do something bad, like have an affair, and you will be struck down.īut there's something else in the Bible: " Thou shalt not kill." That little commandment comes before the adultery one and the one about coveting your neighbor's wife, your neighbor's house, and your neighbor's Tesla.
Karl believes in absolute morality, in Biblical justice. In fact, you can't even spell his last name, Childers, without "child," and that's a sign. It's simple.Īnd Karl, raised in a shack and fed a steady diet of Bible scriptures, is simple. But heart of gold is made of one thing: gold. Anyway, when you think about it, the human heart is made of many different elements-muscle, blood, iron, oxygen. We can hear you asking, "How can someone who murdered two people have a heart of gold, mmhmm?" And we hear you asking that in your best Sling Blade voice, and sorry to tell you, but your accent needs work.
Yep, he's a mentally challenged, limping murderer with terrible hair and a heart of gold. Okay, he's far from typical, but he does have one character trait that movies love: a heart of gold. You know, your typical Hollywood protagonist. Karl Childers is a mentally challenged, limping murderer with terrible hair.
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