Billy Bob's Filmography

THE BADGE (2002)

Movie Quote
DARL: I don't use my gun unless the charm fails.

Plot
It's murder in Louisiana, and local sheriff Darl (Monsieur Thornton) is up to his derriere in misappropriated shoes. That's right. A highway spill of hush puppies brings the only mildly corrupt Darl to check out the accident scene and distribute the spilled payload to the local townspeople. But at the accident site, Darl's men discover the body of a party girl, who has been shot. But wait! It's not a party girl! It's a MAN, baby--a transsexual man who hadn't completed his transition to womanhood before being whacked by someone in Darl's humble municipality. The deceased leaves behind a wife named Scarlett (Patricia Arquette), who urges Darl to investigate the murder, even if that investigation leads him deep into the corridors of power during state elections. Could the Governor himself be involved?  What size hush puppy does he take?

What Billy Bob Gets To Do
Comfortable with his big-fish status in a small-pond town, Darl isn't above a little graft or adultery, but he wrestles with his conscience over this murder that the local politicos would just as soon like to see go away.  Darl walks a tightrope between his political masters, his fractured family, his homophobic distaste for the victim, and Scarlett's insistence that justice be done for that victim.  He is also conflicted by his attraction to Scarlett and an unhappy secret from his own past.

Backstory
This fine little backwoods murder mystery went straight to cable, likely because of very slight and superficial similarities to Lion's Gate's other Billy Bob drama filmed at around the same time:  MONSTER'S BALL (it's set in the Deep South; Billy Bob's lawman is estranged from his family, people in both films wear shoes). All performances are solid, especially from Patricia Arquette, Julie Haggerty (remember her in U-TURN?), Billy Bob regular Rick Dial (who has a ticklish scene as the burg's medical examiner), Sela Ward as Darl's ex-wife, William Devane as the town's political boss, and Thomas Hayden Church as the man who holds the key to Darl's dark past. Director/writer Robby Henson's natural, witty dialogue and the bayou scenery (captured by cinematographer Irek Hartowicz) are but two of the film's pleasures.

While he was filming THE BADGE in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, Billy Bob commissioned local artist Alvin Batiste to paint his portrait for the cover of the PRIVATE RADIO CD.

Awards (for THE BADGE)
GLAAD Media Award - 2003 - Nomination

Relevant Links
IMDb Link
Hollywood Stock Market Page
Patricia Arquette Fan Page Review