SnoopyStyle
It's 1949 San Angelo, Texas, John Grady Cole (Matt Damon) loses the family ranch after his grandfather's death and his mother sold it to live with her new husband in San Antonio. He convinces his friend Lacey Rawlins (Henry Thomas) to go with him to Mexico to find ranch work. They are joined by young Jimmy Blevins (Lucas Black) along the way but are uncertain of his trustworthiness. After some trouble with Mexican locals, the boys split up. John and Lacey get hired onto the large ranch owned by Don Hector de la Rocha (Ruben Blades). John takes an interest in the Don's daughter Alejandra Villarreal (Penélope Cruz).Billy Bob Thornton's directions are luscious melodramatic romantic epic. It's a little long and winding. There are certainly ways to tighten it up but Thornton doesn't seem interested. A tighter edit could raise the intensity. The acting is generally good. This is a romance novel spilled onto the big screen.
Python Hyena
All the Pretty Horses (2000): Dir: Billy Bob Thornton / Cast: Matt Damon, Penelope Cruz, Henry Thomas, Lucas Black, Ruben Blades: Intriguing romance suggesting the many women in the world and the difficulties in obtaining trust. Matt Damon and Henry Thomas ride out to Mexico and are joined by a drunken reckless boy. They decide to help him steal back his belongings. They eventually end up taming wild horses. Damon has an affair before they land in prison. Both Damon and Thomas are met with the reality that connection to the boy was a mistake. Conversation about horses mating in different breeds regards Damon from Texas and Penelope Cruz from Mexico. One wonders why they would foolishly return to dangerous territory. Well directed by Billy Bob Thornton who previously made Sling Blade. Damon rides the fine line between love and danger but one wonders why anyone would decide to return to dangerous territory. Thomas is good but not necessary. It is as if the screenwriter couldn't find anything for him to do. Cruz is caught between love and family without much of a clear thought. Lucas Black plays a troubling drunken wretch who finds fatal consequences. Ruben Blades also brings strict reservations to the whole rule based community. Well made film with great symbolism and a theme regarding carefree risks where acting on impulse comes with a price. Score: 6 ½ / 10
chartguy
No, this did not have a "made for TV" movie ending. It did not tie everything up in a neat little package. It was a superb piece of film making. It felt real, and you cannot say that about many movies.There was a line in the movie, something like "it is not about whether it is right". The movie is all about the characters discovering that -- some would say "growing up". Everyone wants to stand up for what is right, all the time. The reality of life is that you have to pick your fights. I suspect those that did not like this film, did not want to hear that message.The photography was superb. Matt Damon looked like he grew up riding horses (I did). Yes, sometimes there was more Texas twang than others, but it was irrelevant. What mattered was that he made you believe his character. I do not think there was one weak portrayal in the whole film. The direction and all of the actors deserve credit for a real gem of a movie.
kos-27
May contain mild spoilersAll the pretty horses is a movie based on a Cormack Mc Carthy novel by the same name. I read the novel after I had seen the movie because I wondered why the movie left me so empty inside after watching it. I couldn't say that it was bad but I couldn't' find the passion and depth I usually find in Mc Carthy's work. The funny thing is that even after having read the book I couldn't find an instant explanation why the movie didn't work. The director didn't leave anything out and yet, the magic of the book was "lost in translation". I will try to name some possible reasons: 1.The first thing that strikes me is the age difference. Matt Damon- though young looking-plays a teenager of 16,17 years. He can't hide the fact that he's over ten years older. Since one of the main themes of the movie is the coming of age, it doesn't work because the main protagonists are already grown up.2.A second problem is Mc Carthy's poetic language that is totally neglected in the visualization. A director should know how to transfer the poetry of words into pictures. It's not impossible – many have successfully done it. If he can't do it, he should pick another type of genre to direct where poetry isn't needed. 3.There are some recurrent motives in the book like the guilt (and responsibility) the main protagonist feels for the death of a young boy. A second important motive is his respect for parental figures because he never had a real one. Unfortunately in the movie everything is told with the same pace ignoring to underline important motives or set priorities. The director seems to have one universal stylistic device and that is showing horses in all possible variations. It is just not enough.
AD
