De si jolis chevaux

Westerners Matt Damon and Henry Thomas go on a wanderjahr to Mexico in the 1940s looking for the meaning to life. They get into all sorts of trouble, including Damon falling in love with Penelope Cruz, the daughter of the country's most important ranch owner. They go to prison, and the story meanders around a lot, with a lot of handsome vistas and a summing up by Bruce Dern. Lucas Black, as a wild youngster who is just as good as he says, is the most interesting character for me; I know a guy like that.

Despite a summing up by Bruce Dern, it's too unfocused to be absolutely top notch. Reports are that Miramax cut an hour from director Billy Bob Thornton's version, which might explain it.

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.

Released in 2000, "All the Pretty Horses" stars Matt Damon and Henry Thomas as two West Texas cowboys, John Grady Cole and Lacey Rawlins, who are weary of all the fenced-in land in 1949 and so head to Mexico for freer pastures. There they meet up with a foolish juvenile (Lucas Black) before coming to a huge ranch where Penelope Cruze plays the owner's daughter, Alejandra. Unfortunately, unexpected problems surface. Miriam Colon plays the girl's staunch aunt and ranch matriarch while Sam Shepard and Bruce Dern have (very) small roles.

Billy Bob Thornton directed the movie based on Cormac McCarthy's novel and the original runtime was said to be around 3 hours and 12 minutes, but was cut at the insistence of distributer Harvey Weinstein to a mere 117 minutes (!). Similar circumstances forced Marlon Brando to cut his sole directed movie, 1961's "One-Eyed Jacks," from 5 hours to half that time and it turned out to be a Western masterpiece, but "All the Pretty Horses" was cut TOO much. Even an additional 20 minutes would've helped immeasurably.

As it is, there are gaping holes in the story. For instance, there is little build-up to Cole's love affair with Alejandra. "The Horse Whisperer" (1998), by contrast, is an excellent example of proper romantic build-up. Other questions abound: What did Alejandra experience in her life that made her brazenly risk her honor? What (specifically) was the source of her deep contempt for her aunt, who seemed to be just looking out for her? Why does Alejandra's father stay on close terms with Cole even AFTER it's discovered he (supposedly) lied to him? What led up to Rawlins' suicidal confrontation with a prison heavy and the same with Cole's deadly tassel? Also, it's subtly revealed that Cole, Rawlins and Blevins (the kid) have very different views of the world, but they're never fleshed out.

The original Director's Cut has been called a masterpiece by those who've seen it, and a release of it has been looked into, but the original composer, Daniel Lanois, steadfastly refused to license his score (which, unusually, he owns) to any release of the film. If they can't work it out, then why not just use the excellent score by Marty Stuart, which is the one used in the cut-down theatrical/DVD version?

As far as locations go, it's great to have a Western actually shot in West Texas rather than supposedly taking place in Texas, but being shot in Arizona, etc. It was equally shot in New Mexico.

Although "All the Pretty Horses" has a severely troubled post-production history, it's still worth catching DESPITE the holes in the story. It has magnificent cinematography and locations, formidable actors (Damon is perfect as the humble, respectable protagonist), a magnificent score/soundtrack, an epic tone and an unpredictable story. In short, it's a unique Western that not everyone's going to like because uniqueness polarizes opinion. It's not great simply because it was butchered in post-production, but it's still a quality film and, in many ways, a pleasure to behold.

Some criticize it as soporific and that's true in the sense that it's not a rollicking Western, like 2001's "American Outlaws," which plays like "Indiana Jones goes West." "All the Pretty Horses," by contrast, is a realistic Western drama with the tone of the aforementioned "Horse Whisperer," but with periodic actions sequences. It's a refreshing change from the typical in-your-face, loud, CGI-laden, foul-mouthed, unreal movies we have constantly rammed at us; and, again, the music's great.

GRADE: B-

I really wanted to love this film and from the opening scenes to the last third I really did like this film. I love surreal films as much as the next guy, but this film seems like it was made by Oliver Stone on Valium. The film is really slow, now that can be a good thing, but in this case the pace just keeps getting slower and slower. I heard that Thornton's original cut ran almost four hours, it seems that the film has a whole other film missing from it. I didn't read the novel and I'm guessing that I should have read the novel because I couldn't figure this film out for the life of me. When it was all over I felt empty. The performances are all great, I especially liked Lucas Black in the role of Blevins. Matt Damon and Henry Thomas are both very good in their roles and this is first movie Penelope Cruz has appeared in where I could see that she has real talent and isn't just another pretty face. I loved the cinematography, the outdoor landscapes were beautiful. The film has all the flavor and no real substance. I am torn with this film, I wanted to love it so bad. Even great film makers slip every now and then.

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 *****