Part elegy, part romance, and part myth, it's a sweeping paean to the lost West, a dreamy chronicling of the end of an age.
All the Pretty Horses (2000)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:98
Fresh:31
Rotten:67
Average Rating:4.8/10
Consensus: This adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel comes off as rather flat and uninvolving. Scenes feel rushed and done in shorthand, and the romance between Damon and Cruz has no sparks.
Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Billy Bob Thornton's ALL THE PRETTY HORSES is about John Grady Cole (Matt Damon), a young rancher growing up just after WWII. After his mother sells the family ranch, John convinces his best... Billy Bob Thornton's ALL THE PRETTY HORSES is about John Grady Cole (Matt Damon), a young rancher growing up just after WWII. After his mother sells the family ranch, John convinces his best friend, Lacey Rawlins (Henry Thomas), to accompany him to Mexico, where ranching is still a big part of life. Along the way they meet Jimmy Blevins (Lucas Black), a winningly enthusiastic boy with a volatile nature. Eventually, John and Lacey end up on a huge ranch south of the border, where John falls for the wealthy rancher's daughter (Penélope Cruz). This leads to deadly trouble for the two young men, but John won't be dissuaded from pursuing his new love. Thornton has made a credible modern Western with this film, which gets strong performances from Damon, Cruz, Thomas, and, in a star-making turn, Black as the fiery Blevins. ALL THE PRETTY HORSES is at its best when focusing on the dusty details of the ranchers' hard existence. Barry Markowitz's cinematography and Ted Tally's script (based on Cormac McCarthy's much-loved novel) capture a sweet and melancholy flavor in depicting a way of life that seemed long since lost even while a hardy few were still living it. [More]
Starring: Matt Damon, Penélope Cruz, Henry Thomas, Lucas Black
Starring: Matt Damon, Penélope Cruz, Henry Thomas, Lucas Black, Ruben Blades, Robert Patrick, Bruce Dern
Director: Billy Bob Thornton
Director: Billy Bob Thornton
Screenwriter: Ted Tally
Studio: Miramax Films
Reviews for All the Pretty Horses
The result of what would appear to be a great deal of effort and some horribly misguided conviction is an extremely slow-moving train wreck.
A soft, dusty, widescreen [old-school western]… an intelligent, sensitive drama with an epic scope, muted narrative and impressionistic heart.
Those horses are as attractive as promised, but the film's snail-like plot caused me to lose interest early on.
A film of infinite possibility that somehow got reduced to tangible mediocrity.
a beautifully filmed modern Western that moves at a quick pace, but feels clunky and ill-formed
Although the visuals are consistently lovely to look at, the action is just as consistently unexciting.
Latest News for All the Pretty Horses
September 13, 2007:
Viggo Mortensen to Walk The Road?
The film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's Pulitzer-winning, Oprah-certified novel, The Road, may have found its star. More...
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