Karl does possess a mental inferiority, but gives attention and love to those for whom he cares. He regrets his past mistakes and has learned from them – Karl may have killed, but he has truly become an upright and gentle man. Karl established a fatherly posture towards Frank the first day the two meet by helping the struggling boy carry home several heavy loads of laundry. In just a short amount of time, Karl establishes himself as the father Frank needs; he effectively disciplines (by verbally correcting) the boy, and showers him with affection. In one scene, Frank finds Karl eating the potted meat from his mother’s dollar store and promptly informs Karl that the meat is comprised of “peckers.” Karl scolds Frank, telling him young boys should not use such language. Another scene finds Karl and Frank sitting in Frank’s secret hideaway by the lakeside. Frank is telling Karl about his father’s suicide and the hard times that have ensued. Like a father, Karl tells Frank that young boys should not be worrying about such horrible things – childhood is a time for happiness and fun.

Karl not only adopts the role of a mentor towards Frank, but that of a friend. Karl constantly accompanies Frank to his secret hideaway, exchanging stories and talking about life. One afternoon, Karl even joins Frank in playing football with his school friends, and lets Frank win. In this moment, Karl has become Frank’s close friend, rather than acting as his father. In the director’s cut of the film, Karl accompanies Frank to the house of his girlfriend, as many good friends will do for one another, and supports Frank when he declares his love for the young girl. Karl also takes measures to generously lend Frank his collection of books, and doesn’t mind when Frank reads one without permission. At the end of the film, Karl bequeaths his beloved book collection to Frank. Karl has learned everything—including his moral sensibility—from this collection. Now Frank will have the opportunity to do the same. Not only is this an act of friendship, but this is a fatherly act as well – Karl gives Frank the chance to learn everything he has learned, including the valuable morals he gleaned from his Bible. Karl may possess a mental handicap, but he acts as a better friend and father to Frank than Doyle ever does. Karl shows through his actions that mental retardation has no effect on one’s heart or morals; in a way, Karl’s hindrance allows him to become a better man.

Doyle Hargraves, who dates Frank’s mother Linda, is the other man in Frank Wheatley’s life who attempts act like a father. While possessing no mental handicap, Doyle acts viciously and makes Frank’s life miserable. Doyle is a prominent figure in Frank’s life who abuses his power and situation. Doyle wounds Frank’s spirit and abuses his mother, warning her that he will kill her if she ever attempts to leave him. Every now and then, Doyle invites his loud and crude band over, allowing them to stay and cause commotion until the wee hours of the morning, ignoring the fact that Linda and Frank must get up early in the morning. Doyle enjoys acting inappropriately around Frank, as when he proclaims to Linda—in the boy’s presence—how “horny” he feels. In one scene, Doyle even physically abuses Frank when the boy angrily tells the much larger man that Karl has the right to live in the house as long as he wishes. Luckily, Karl manages to stop Doyle before he goes too far. Even though Doyle possesses no mental disabilities, he conducts himself terribly. Frank has more of a father in Karl, a mentally retarded ex-convict, than he could ever wish for in Doyle, who has somehow managed to stay on the right side of the law.

The virtues of Karl and the vices of Doyle are also seen in the characters’ interactions with Vaughan, Linda’s homosexual best friend. Doyle, being close-minded and crass, naturally hates Vaughan because of his sexual orientation. He frequently makes fun of Vaughan and calls him crude, offensive terms. He also tells Linda that he is not happy about her accepting such a different man. He frequently threatens Vaughan and even mocks him when Karl’s band comes over to practice. Karl, however, accepts Vaughan for the man he is. Karl, even though a strict fundamentalist who closely follows the Bible’s teachings, tells Vaughan towards the end of the film that he reckons that Vaughan is still a good man. Even though the Bible condemns homosexuality, Karl still chooses to accept Vaughan’s sexual preference. Karl creates his strict moral values mainly from his readings of the Bible, but moves outside this important source when he concludes that Vaughan is a wonderful human being. Doyle refuses to give up his values to accept Vaughan, and this difference highlights how the disabled man is truly greater.

Throughout the film, the director Billy Bob Thornton sends the message that even though Karl may be regarded as inferior because of his mental retardation, he is a better and gentler man than Doyle Hargraves, a man with normal cognitive development. These two men are important figures in Frank’s life: one makes him miserable, the other offers fatherly kindness. Thornton shows us that a man with a mental disability can be much more virtuous than one who is able-minded, suggesting that mental retardation only hinders the mind, not the heart or the morals.

by Meredith Turner (UNC-CH))