Thornton promptly falls in with the wrong crowd, which includes his drug dealer cousin Walt Goggins and two hell-raising teens, Colin Fickes and Max Kasch. The group runs afoul of Ray McKinnon (also the film's writer and director), the stereotypical sadistic bully who must inevitably be confronted in the film's climax by the hero, who is of course Thornton. Thornton continues his heroic ways by sacrificing himself so that Blount can pair up with the world's nicest sheriff, James Intveld.
A minor but interesting subplot involves blind folk music researcher Harry Lennix, who develops a friendship with Blount. Johnny Galecki, familiar from "Roseanne" reruns, serves as Lennix's escort. Harry Dean Stanton shows up as a folk musician who encourages Blount to sing a number. Which she does quite well.
How others will see it. Obscure is the word for Chrystal, a moderately eccentric slice of Southern independent film. Sometimes, this film will be too much for some, such as the scene where Blount wants Thornton to slice open her neck to free the baby she believes is trapped inside. But many scenes have a familiar look to them, especially McKinnon's finale comeuppance, reminiscent of the climax of numerous Clint Eastwood westerns.
How I felt about it. Lisa Blount was 46 years old when this film was released. She has aged well. She is still best known for her supporting role as shallow, scheming Lynette in An Officer and a Gentleman (1983). She received the only critical attention for Chrystal, winning Best Actress at the Stockhold Film Festival. One suspects that this is partly due to her sublime performance of "Rocking Chair," perhaps the highlight of the film.
Thornton is best known for Sling Blade, which he wrote and directed as well as starred in. There's similarities between that Thornton character and this one. Both are criminals from the rural South, and neither can fully adjust to society. Both take heroic actions to rescue the female lead from the clutches of the villain.
The primary difference between them is that the Sling Blade protagonist was mentally undeveloped. In Chrystal, Thornton is reasonably intelligent, but can't figure out what role to play, either with Blount, Goggins, or McKinnon. He wants them to determine the relationship, yet resists their decisions because he disagrees with them.