All the Pretty Horses (film)
Encyclopedia
All the Pretty Horses is a 2000 American romance
western
film, directed by Billy Bob Thornton
and based on the novel of the same title by author Cormac McCarthy
. It stars Matt Damon
and Penélope Cruz
. The film received mostly negative reviews and grossed only $18 million worldwide.
to seek work. They encounter on the trail a peculiar 13-year-old boy named Jimmy Blevins, whom they befriend, and later meet a young aristocrat's daughter, Alejandra Villarreal, with whom Cole falls in love.
Blevins is killed by a corrupt police captain. Cole and Rawlins become hired hands for Alejandra's father, who likes their work, but Cole's romantic interest in his daughter is unwelcome. He and Rawlins are framed for a crime and sent to a Mexican prison, where they must defend themselves against dangerous inmates and are nearly killed.
He is freed by the aunt of Alejandra on the condition that she never sees hims again.
When he is free again, Cole attempts to reunite with Alejandra over her family's objections.They originally run away together however she decides that she must keep her word as that is all she is and leaves him, returning to her family.
He also tracks down the captain who took the Blevins boy's life, seeking revenge.
In the end, he ends up alone, back in the United States, defending himself in a court of law before a judge.
forced him to cut more than one hour out of it. Peter Biskind
suggests in his book Down and Dirty Pictures that this was at least partially done as payback for Thornton's refusal to cut Sling Blade
.
Thornton's cut had an effect on the storytelling. Matt Damon was publicly critical of this decision, saying to Entertainment Weekly, "You can't cut 35% of the movie and expect it to be the same movie."
Some attempts have been made to release a director's cut DVD, but arrangements can not be reached with the composer of the film's music, Daniel Lanois
. As part of the re-cut, Weinstein scrapped the original score and hired Marty Stuart
. Lanois felt insulted, and has steadfastly refused to license his score (which, unusually, he owns) to any release of the film.
The comment of Entertainment Weekly
critic Lisa Schwarzbaum was typical: "Faced with a choice of blunt instruments with which to beat a good book into a bad movie, director Billy Bob Thornton chooses heavy, random, arty imagery and a leaden pace."
The New York Times
reviewer thought the film "as slick and superficial as a Marlboro advertisement
" The characters were also derided as undeveloped, and some reviewers considered there to be a lack of chemistry between the lead actors. Roger Ebert
, however, disagreed, awarding the film three-and-a-half out of a possible four stars. The film's sweeping visuals (filmed in New Mexico and Texas), however, were consistently praised by all.
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
film, directed by Billy Bob Thornton
Billy Bob Thornton
Billy Bob Thornton is an American actor, screenwriter, director and musician. Thornton gained early recognition as a cast member on the CBS sitcom Hearts Afire and in several early 1990s films including On Deadly Ground and Tombstone...
and based on the novel of the same title by author Cormac McCarthy
Cormac McCarthy
Cormac McCarthy is an American novelist and playwright. He has written ten novels, spanning the Southern Gothic, Western, and modernist genres. He received the Pulitzer Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction for The Road...
. It stars Matt Damon
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...
and Penélope Cruz
Penélope Cruz
Penélope Cruz Sánchez is a Spanish actress. Signed by an agent at age 15, she made her acting debut at 16 on television and her feature film debut the following year in Jamón, jamón , to critical acclaim...
. The film received mostly negative reviews and grossed only $18 million worldwide.
Plot
John Grady Cole, a young cowboy, and his best friend Lacey Rawlins leave their ranch in San Angelo, Texas and cross the border on horseback south to MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
to seek work. They encounter on the trail a peculiar 13-year-old boy named Jimmy Blevins, whom they befriend, and later meet a young aristocrat's daughter, Alejandra Villarreal, with whom Cole falls in love.
Blevins is killed by a corrupt police captain. Cole and Rawlins become hired hands for Alejandra's father, who likes their work, but Cole's romantic interest in his daughter is unwelcome. He and Rawlins are framed for a crime and sent to a Mexican prison, where they must defend themselves against dangerous inmates and are nearly killed.
He is freed by the aunt of Alejandra on the condition that she never sees hims again.
When he is free again, Cole attempts to reunite with Alejandra over her family's objections.They originally run away together however she decides that she must keep her word as that is all she is and leaves him, returning to her family.
He also tracks down the captain who took the Blevins boy's life, seeking revenge.
In the end, he ends up alone, back in the United States, defending himself in a court of law before a judge.
Cast
- Matt DamonMatt DamonMatthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...
as John Grady Cole - Penélope CruzPenélope CruzPenélope Cruz Sánchez is a Spanish actress. Signed by an agent at age 15, she made her acting debut at 16 on television and her feature film debut the following year in Jamón, jamón , to critical acclaim...
as Alejandra Villarreal - Henry ThomasHenry ThomasHenry Jackson Thomas, Jr. is an American actor and musician. He has appeared in more than 40 films and is best known for his role as Elliott in the 1982 Steven Spielberg film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.-Early life:...
as Lacey Rawlins - Lucas BlackLucas BlackLucas York Black is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles in the CBS television series American Gothic as well as roles in films such as Sling Blade, Jarhead, Friday Night Lights, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Legion, Get Low, and All the Pretty Horses.-Personal...
as Jimmy Blevins - Ruben BladesRubén BladesRubén Blades Bellido de Luna is a Panamanian salsa singer, songwriter, lawyer, actor, Latin jazz musician, and politician, performing musically most often in the Afro-Cuban and Latin jazz genres...
as Don Hector de la Rocha - Sam ShepardSam ShepardSam Shepard is an American playwright, actor, and television and film director. He is the author of several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child...
as J.C. Franklin - Robert PatrickRobert PatrickRobert Hammond Patrick, Jr. is an American actor, known for his leading and supporting roles in a number of films and television shows....
as Cole - Bruce DernBruce DernBruce MacLeish Dern is an American film actor. He also appeared as a guest star in numerous television shows. He frequently takes roles as a character actor, often playing unstable and villainous characters...
as the Judge
Editing
After Billy Bob Thornton completed his cut (said to be somewhere between three and four hours) producer/distributor Harvey WeinsteinHarvey Weinstein
Harvey Weinstein, CBE is an American film producer and movie studio chairman. He is best known as co-founder of Miramax Films. He and his brother Bob have been co-chairmen of The Weinstein Company, their film production company, since 2005...
forced him to cut more than one hour out of it. Peter Biskind
Peter Biskind
Peter Biskind is a journalist, former executive editor of Premiere magazine, and the author of numerous books depicting life in Hollywood, including Seeing Is Believing, Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, Down and Dirty Pictures, and Gods and Monsters...
suggests in his book Down and Dirty Pictures that this was at least partially done as payback for Thornton's refusal to cut Sling Blade
Sling Blade
Sling Blade is a 1996 American drama film set in rural Arkansas, written and directed by Billy Bob Thornton, who also stars in the lead role. It tells the story of a mentally impaired man named Karl Childers who is released from a psychiatric hospital, where he has lived since killing his mother...
.
Thornton's cut had an effect on the storytelling. Matt Damon was publicly critical of this decision, saying to Entertainment Weekly, "You can't cut 35% of the movie and expect it to be the same movie."
Some attempts have been made to release a director's cut DVD, but arrangements can not be reached with the composer of the film's music, Daniel Lanois
Daniel Lanois
Daniel Lanois born September 19, 1951 in Hull, Quebec) is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He has released a number of albums of his own work and has produced albums for a wide variety of artists, including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Emmylou Harris, Willie...
. As part of the re-cut, Weinstein scrapped the original score and hired Marty Stuart
Marty Stuart
John Martin "Marty" Stuart is an American country music singer-songwriter, known for both his traditional style, and eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music...
. Lanois felt insulted, and has steadfastly refused to license his score (which, unusually, he owns) to any release of the film.
Critical response
Reviews of the film were generally negative, criticizing it as a poor adaptation of the novel and a dramatically un-involving film.The comment of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
critic Lisa Schwarzbaum was typical: "Faced with a choice of blunt instruments with which to beat a good book into a bad movie, director Billy Bob Thornton chooses heavy, random, arty imagery and a leaden pace."
The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reviewer thought the film "as slick and superficial as a Marlboro advertisement
Marlboro Man
The Marlboro Man is a figure used in tobacco advertising campaign for Marlboro cigarettes. In the United States, where the campaign originated, it was used from 1954 to 1999. The Marlboro Man was first conceived by Leo Burnett in 1954. The image involves a rugged cowboy or cowboys, in nature with...
" The characters were also derided as undeveloped, and some reviewers considered there to be a lack of chemistry between the lead actors. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
, however, disagreed, awarding the film three-and-a-half out of a possible four stars. The film's sweeping visuals (filmed in New Mexico and Texas), however, were consistently praised by all.