Thornton's triple-threat showpiece, about a retarded matricide
released to start a new life, is powerful in spite of its rather slack
direction and moments of cartoonishness in his portrayal. His
relationship with a local boy (Black) has a touching simplicity to
begin with, but storm clouds are brewing on the horizon, as the kid's
mother has a vicious drunkard for a boyfriend. Adapted from Thornton's
own play, it's very carefully developed, if a shade too long - but
revelatory in many ways, not least for the enormously promising Black.
