Customer Reviews

All the Pretty Horses

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

All the Pretty Horses, adapted from the novel by Cormac McCarthy, follows the tale of a young Texas rancher who sets out for Mexico to find adventure. Though promoted as a love story, this serious coming-of-age drama offers more than the usual "boy-meets-girl" plot.

Despite the fact that the protagonist of the novel is only 16, the casting is excellent. Matt Damon plays the lead character of John Grady Cole and, although he is convincing, it is not the role of a lifetime. Henry Thomas shines in the supporting role of John's friend, Rawlins, who accompanies him on the epic journey. Along the way, they are joined by Blevins, a young boy played by Lucas Black (Sling Blade) with perhaps a secret or two. The weakest link is actress Penelope Cruz, who plays Cole's love interest, Alejandra; there is no chemistry whatsoever between her and Damon. The film also includes brief cameos by Sam Shepard, Robert Patrick, and Bruce Dern.

Director Billy Bob Thornton has said All the Pretty Horses is the best work he'll ever do but, although his directing is adequate, it is hardly spectacular. The narrative becomes choppy at times, and fails to define Cole's motivation. Following the book closely, the film offers many unforeseen plot twists.

Among the most exciting developments is a harrowing prison sequence, which captures both the fear and confusion of someone wrongly incarcerated. Further, a scene depicting Cole's attempt to tame a stallion is also notable, but is somewhat hampered by the obvious use of a stunt double.

The cinematography throughout the film is breathtaking, and it's refreshing to know that there are parts of this world still unblemished by modern progress. This gives the story the look and feel of an old western.

Set in 1949, just after the close of World War II and the advent of rock and roll, it is a world that Cole turns his back on. Perhaps searching for a bygone era, he looks upon the vast wilds of Mexico as a land of freedom and independence. Once can empathize with a lost soul who doesn't know where he belongs, but running away is clearly no solution. It's a shame Thornton didn't know into which genre to place his film, as it runs aimlessly from one event to another, like all the pretty horses with nowhere to go. Rating: 7 out of 10.

Not only did I like the movie, it introduced me to a great writer, Cormac McCarthy. Cormac McCarthy is a modern realist, my American Lit class first brought my attention to this author and the happenstance of picking this movie off the shelf brought a screenplay based on his book to my viewing "pleasure." It's an interesting movie, some call it a typical picture, but I was taken in and thought the story superb. Get past the negativity of the reviews here and see it for yourself. Comac McCarthy deserves recognition for his craft. Matt Damon did a respectable job in the effort and Penelope Cruz (Correlli's Mandolin) put her on my radar screen. I liked it, what more can I say. Oh by the way, I thought this was going to be a "horsey movie" not a tragedy.

I have watched this movie somehow from the beginning to the very end and I have only one comment about it : It was an extremely boring movie that told the story of two young men checking the depths of an unknown river with both legs - by going to Mexico.

Billy Bob really botched this one. Cormac McCarthy's amazing and epic book deserved much better. Overall, the acting is spotty, and why he would choose someone from Boston to play Grady Cole, a Texan, is beyond me. Barry Pepper would have been a better choice for the lead. Anybody would have been better than an overrated Matt Damon. The outdoor scenes are all shot during the middle of the day, in pale lighting, and the mystique of the southwestern desert landscape that Cormac so eloquently captures on print is lost on film. The cinematography leans more toward a made-for-TV look than film. Marty Stuart provides a slick, polished country music gloss to the soundtrack, when a better band like Calexico, from Tucson, could have provided more haunting and appropriate accompaniments. Hopefully someday a more promising director like Alejandro González Iñárritu or Christopher Nolan will get the rights and give the book the treatment it deserves. Stick to B-movies and Bad Santa sequels Billy Bob!

Given how disappointingly liberal, preachy, trite and predictable so many of Hollywood's dramas are, this film presents both tremendous moral balance and a wonderful ease of presentation, all the while offering up one surprise after another. It's as if this film was shot nearly at the time it was to have happened; so clean, real, and spare is the spiritual atmosphere surrounding the characters. Whether the lead characters' authentic, highly believable progress through the story, a simply fantastic performance by young Lucas Black, or the spot-on cameo by a very able Bruce Dern, this film exposes Western sensibilities (even in the mid 20th century) to perfection - Billy Bob Thornton deserves credit for making a beautiful sleeper of a film far too realistic, too believable, and too traditional to ever win a second glance from the Hollywood crowd. See it, and if you're like me, own it for it's simply riveting social and historical placement.

It's a shame that Billy Bob Thorton and Co. had to cut so much from this movie. After two hours, I felt as though I could stand another two. This movie is an excellent rendition of Cormac McCarthy's novel, and remains very, very true to the book. The acting is nearly flawless, especially that of Matt Damon (John Grady Cole), Henry Thomas (Rawlins), and Lucas Black (Blevins). The directing was great, the scenery and landscape all very beautiful.

That having been said, I must include the comment that I wish this movie had not been edited so much. Having read the book, I could easily follow the story of the movie, and enjoyed it thoroughly. My wife, on the other hand, has not read the novel, and was completely lost throughout despite my attempts to piece together the scattered fragments for her.

This flaw (and a large one it is) makes it difficult for this movie to have widespread appeal. Unless you've read the book, plan on being confused most of the time. Still, this movie is well worth seeing, even if you have to read McCarthy's novel first so you can understand it.

Story was moving and the scenery was expansive and beautiful. The love story seemed artificially inserted, but probably made it more popular. Honed to the story of the young men and their explorations both geographical and psychological, it would have benn a tighter and more crafted production. BUT, it is better than so many other films and the acting is superb.

I found this to be a very underated movie!

This DVD was extremly boring. My mom and I bought it thinking it was going to be full of horses, but it isn't! We are both avid horse lovers and it was a big disapointment. They spend more time with everyone giving each other "loving" looks. To sum it up there's too much time spent gazing at each other and not enough spent with horses! Why didn't they just call it "All the Pretty Women"?

But there was no chemistry on-screen with co-star Penelope Cruz who seemed like she was catatonic through the whole thing.
The scenery was beautiful. The screenplay didn't do the story justice, it didn't move along well. But it was wonderful and Mr. Damon's performance was significant. I never thought I liked him as an actor before, but I will definitely see more of his work now.