De si jolis chevaux

ALL THE PRETTY HORSES is quite effective, though there are some serious gaping holes in the story. The story and characters insist that John Cole and Alejandra have fallen in love; we only get to see a swift montage of sex-making, which is not the same thing at all. Damon made me believe that John was in love through the sheer force of his acting, but the audience needed to be courted along in this romance. Also, Lacey Rawlins at one point crucially (suicidally?) antagonizes a fellow in prison, and we have no idea what bad blood has been brewing between these two.

There are stories about how Thornton's film was first cut at four hours, then the director agreed to deliver a three hour version. The financing studio balked at the length and sold it off to Miramax, who contractually required a cut no longer than two and a quarter hours. What is left runs 117 minutes. What happened? Twenty minutes would have certainly helped smooth out the few rough spots, and a two-and-a-half hour or three hour movie might have been some sort of masterpiece. As it is, some of the epic sweep is contained and the film remains remarkably moving, but may wind up ultimately not finding its commercial or artistic audience because of the compromises. A shame.

Cormac McCarthy's novel, All The Pretty Horses, the first part of his breath-taking Border Trilogy, is one of the most perfect source materials ever written. Add to this the impressive line-up of talent (Ted Tally adapting, Thornton directing, Matt Damon, back when he was a hot property the first time around, starring) assembled for the film version and it's fair to say my expectations were raised sky high. When the film came out it was buried by the distributor. I managed to catch it in the one week it played at a single cinema in Edinburgh and I would be lying if I didn't admit that the whole experience was a crushing disappointment. It wasn't that the film makers had ballsed the whole thing up, no it was much more frustrating than that. You could tell that somewhere in that film there was a masterpiece straining to get out. Individual sequences impressed but the whole thing moved at such a frenzied pace that the main characters' journey, a true rite of passage in the novel, had become damagingly truncated. The result was underwhelming but at the same time as been annoyed at the film I could tell it wasn't the film makers' fault. It was all too apparent that this was a great film that had had it's guts, it's heart, it's very essence, chopped out of it by a greedy distributor trying to market the film as some kind of Titanic / Young Guns cross over. Guess what, this movie was never going to appeal to the teeny boppers. If only the studio could have realized that and been true to the property they acquired in the first place. My suspicions were confirmed recently when I read an article wherein Matt Damon, a fine actor despite the criticism, claimed that Billy Bob Thornton's integral cut of the movie is the best he's ever been involved in. I don't know about you but that makes me want to see it. Apparently the studio are willing to release this extended cut on DVD (all revenue streams reach the ocean eventually) but Thornton won't settle for anything less than a full cinematic re-release. I can't say I blame him, I get the impression his film deserves at least that much. So for now I can't recommend this film, check out the novel instead and then the rest of Cormac McCarthy's back catalogue. But let's hope that in the not too distant future this film finally gets the treatment I suspect it deserves.

I don't think I will ever understand the disappointing backlash against this film. What I witnessed was not your typical "western" film full of passionate love and implausible events. Instead, what I saw was beautifully captured images, powerful acting by Damon and Thomas, a story that twisted further down a darkened rabbit hole than I was expecting, and this challenging character study that gave us a brief insight to a world that will never be seen by our eyes again. This was not the romantic film that it was marketed as, this was not the adventure that it was marketed as, but instead it was the story of one character and the tribulations that effect him on his journey into the real world. It is the story of a very compassionate man that sees the honest darkness of those around him and must face the consequences of his actions. It showcases amazing acting that may be a bit disturbing for the unfamiliar eye, but to me was nothing short of brilliant. Billy Bob successfully adapted the story from the page, but it was not the film that he wanted. Miramax butchered this film in the marketing aspect, which ultimately hurt it overall. I will never understand why this did not receive the praise it should have, but will never be ashamed to bring it out for friends and family to enjoy. This film was like finding a dollar in the couch, an unexpected surprise that keeps a smile on your face the rest of the day.

I have read several reviews that just completely dismantle Damon's acting in this film. While his accent does fade in and out randomly, it is the way that he carries himself and reacts to the situations that unfold before him that really showcase the true acting ability of this star. While I do not think that Bennifer has made the best choices to challenge his career, Damon continually proves that he has the ability to be a force in Hollywood. This film alone proves it. He built this beautiful chemistry between him and Cruz that teetered on fear and sorrow. He showed his compassion towards Blevins and Lacey continually throughout the film showing that his idea of friendship was stronger than anyone expected. His strength and will shined brightly when he was ultimately faced with death. These are all moments where other actors would have cheapened it up and tried to fake the audience instead of showing the truth. I thought Damon showed us honesty, he showed us a part of him that I was not expecting. If you couldn't tell already, he really impressed me. But yet so did everyone else in this film. I honestly thought that the kid from Sling Blade, Lucas Black, would never work again, and I was skeptical of him in this film, but he was exceptional. He took us away from his character in Sling Blade and built a whole new name for himself. He took the challenges of this character and pushed them out of the television. The same can be said for Henry Thomas that continues to impress me with his ability to capture his moments and make them so real. Finally, Billy Bob did a great job of casting the rest of this film to bring the images and feelings of the time period to light. I could feel the dusty world of Texas and Mexico through the smaller characters that he cast.

Speaking of Billy Bob, could we not agree that these actors wouldn't have been half as good if it were not for the amazing direction behind the camera. I wish that I could have seen his version of the film instead of the choppy Miramax version. He has a very gifted eye, and while sometimes he takes roles that I think blur that eye, he always seems to rebound with a very riveting performance. He is constantly experimenting with genres and styles, and this film shows that he can break traditional boundaries. The images that he captured on film help create this darkness that surrounded our main characters. The scene with the thunderstorm I thought was beautiful, as was the rolling Mexican landscape. He places us into the film as more than just observers, and that is a sign of a great director.

Finally, I would like to pose the question of why Grady was so infatuated with Blevins? There were several moments during the film where he could have simply walked away from the boy, and Lacey even suggested it continually, but they always stayed with him. I realize that a main reason may be to develop the plot, but I think there was a more symbolic meaning. I feel that Damon connected with the boy because they had a kindred spirit. Damon was this passive, controlled character that never really understood himself until later on in the film, while Blevins was this wild-hair that never controlled himself or thought about his decisions. It was as if they were polar opposites, but yet they were perfectly matched. I think Damon liked him because it was what he aspired to be. I sometimes felt that the secondary characters were not real, and sometimes they were just imaginary images of what Damon wanted himself to be more like. This thought created a much darker picture for me that forced this film to go deeper into my mind and be more enjoyable than I thought.

Overall, I really liked this film. While others will definitely disagree, I thought that the acting, story, and especially the direction deserved more attention that what was handed to it.

Grade: ***** out of *****

May contain mild spoilers

All 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.

All the Pretty Horses is directed by Billy Bob Thornton and adapted from Cormac McCarthy's novel of the name name by Ted Tally. It stars Matt Damon, Penélope Cruz, Henry Thomas & Lucas Black. Marty Stuart scores the music and Barry Markowitz photographs it. Plot finds Damon as John Grady Cole, a young cowboy who travels with his best friend, Lacey Rawlings, from Texas across the border into Mexico. It's a journey that sees acquaintances come and go, love blossom and the harshness of the world become all too real to such young eyes.

A big financial disaster for Columbia Pictures and Miramax Films who lost nearly $40 million on the film. Serves them right I say, for Thornton's original cut was a long epic piece thought to be around three and a half hours in length. But good old Harvey Weinstein demanded drastic cuts to be made and Thornton had to trim it to just nearly two hours in running time. That's a lot of story gone astray, and boy does it show, no wonder Damon himself bitterly commented that to lose 35% of your movie ultimately leaves you with a completely different film. It's such a shame because although it's now a film chocked with flaws and flow problems, one can see that in its original cut there had to be at worst an involving rites-of-passage story.

So what are we left with? Well it's certainly not a donkey. It drips with period atmosphere and comes resplendent with a poetic beauty thanks to Markowitz's photography. Stuart's score too has the tone absolutely right, blending the old feel of the West with evocative arrangements for the more tender moments involving the protagonists: and there are tender moments, notably between Cole (Damon youthful but not really exuding a naivety for the age of the character) & Rawlings (Thomas effective and dominating his scenes). That the crucial relationship between Cole and Alejandra Villarreal (Cruz weak and lacking believability for the romantic strand) is barely formed can be laid at Weinstein's door. So too can the fact that a number of characters file in and out with blink and you miss them parts, sad when it's the likes of Robert Patrick and Sam Sheperd; and tragic in the case of Bruce Dern's judge; the latter of which is a crucial character in the final quarter but gets about three minutes screen time. Madness. Star of the movie is Black, who as young ruffian Blevins, manages to convey a deep sense of vulnerability. It's a critical role, one that affects the main character's lives, and thanks to Black's spirited performance we anxiously await what fate has in store for the lovable rogue.

So much good to sample, then, even if it feels like going out for a three course dinner and finding the main course is no longer available. It's hoped that one day we may get a directors cut from Thornton, only then you feel will All the Pretty Horses be revealed as a potential thoroughbred. 6/10