Tomorrow - Robert Duval
In the Duval Hall of Fame convo, Tracy mentioned Tomorrow, one of Duval’s early collaborations with playwright Horton Foote. They also mentioned it inspired Billy Bob into writing Slingblade.
It’s been years since I watched it but Slingblade originally really moved me. Would be curious to watch it again.
I can see how Billy Bob saw this role Duval crafted as a somewhat simple but good-meaning man who begins to care for people around him and take on their safety as his responsibility.
In Slingblade, tensions rise as it seems the main character might turn to deadly violence to protect the neighbor boy he loves like a little brother.
It’s pretty cool to see the genesis of that project. One can see Billy Bob’s intentions to take a film he admired and turn it into an art house movie that he could raise money for in the early 1990’s. He took the somewhat melodramatic premise of Tomorrow and turned it into a heart felt and gripping thriller. It’s really a spiritual revenge story picking up where Tomorrow left off.
Tomorrow is very low budget and theatrical and old fashioned in its plotting and dialog, but it’s got some charm and I can see why Duval named it as one of his favorites, as he pulled out a role unlike anything else I’ve seen him do. Don’t want to give away anything but the last 15 minutes pays off.
There’s even a free version to watch on YouTube @ Silver Shadows Cinema.