Word: thornton
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...DEGREES OF BILLY BOB THORNTON...
Maybe you've never heard of BILLY BOB THORNTON, but that doesn't make him an unknown. The surprise Oscar nominee for Best Actor can be connected to every other Best Actor or Actress nominee through people he has worked with. According to the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon theory, any actor, living or dead, can be traced back to Bacon within six steps. For Billy Bob, it's only four--plus he's friends with the President. Take that, Kevin...
...Thornton unfortunately saddles his script with too many Autistic Saint cliches--he fixes dead lawn mowers in minutes, he out-Gumps Gump on the football field--but he steadily reveals an emotional core that feels honest and unforced...
...Sling Blade" is, moreover, a genuine ensemble piece. Thornton is attentive and respectful of all of his characters, even of the monsters, and it avoids becoming, like another recent auteur project, "The Kenneth Branagh Story...
...since I reckon no conclusion this certain needs a build-up this long, mmm-hmmm. To its credit, though, "Sling Blade" plays out among real human beings, a welcome break in a year of airborne cows and impossible missions. A few swift cuts in the editing room and Thornton could have had a real winner. As is, "Sling Blade" is a worthy runner...