(I've decided to change the format of these posts. I will provide a link to the plot and cast instead. This leaves more space for my idle rambling.)
This story combines the lives of several marginalized people in a very memorable and thoughtful way.
Karl is both blessed and cursed to be born with a kind and loving heart and a seemingly innate goodness. Although he kills his mother and her boyfriend out of rage, it is originally prompted by protectiveness for her. How ironic that each of us has a different idea of the right solution for a problem. How often is protection misguided or misunderstood?
"I don't think anything bad ought to happen to children. I think the bad stuff should be saved up for the people whose grown up. That's the way I see it."
The simplicity with which Karl sees the world is something for each of us to learn from. Though his parents lock him in a shed with a dirt floor, he is somehow able to understand goodness.
I love the tone of this movie that sticks up for the single mother, the fatherless boy, the homosexual and the mentally challenged. I love the way Linda kicks her boyfriend out when he gets drunken and abusive, but I hate the way she lets him come back when he apologizes. I love the quiet strength of Vaughan, who is as human as the rest of us, but still sometimes manages to do the right thing. I love the unconditional acceptance that Frank gives to Karl.
I would like to think that the percentage of characters in this movie who were honest and good-hearted is realistic. I would like to believe that there are few evil people out there, or maybe mentally ill. I would like to see the good in everyone.
It's probably true that our society will never have a place for the pure of heart.
R.C.
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