Wonderful character development!

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

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, but likable juvenile (Lucas Black) before settling down on a huge ranch where Cole falls in love with the owner's daughter, Alejandra (Penelope Cruze). Unfortunately, unexpected problems with the law 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 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.A director's cut has supposedly been looked into (or worked on), but the composer steadfastly refused to license his score (which, unusually, he owns) to any release of the film. I hope they can work it out because the score and soundtrack are outstanding.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 very much 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 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" 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 sometimes check 'contains spoilers' to protect my standing at IMDb but I will try to not give away too much of the plot of All The Pretty Horses.I will admit two things right off... First, I tend to review movies I don't like, more than those I do. And second, I tend to dislike modern 'Western' type movies more than I like them. When I watched "All The Pretty Horses" though, I knew that it was a movie that I would have to post a review about here on IMDb - a positive review, and I was anxious to do so.This is a "Western" in that it takes place with characters who ride horses and wear cowboy hats, and in many ways it could be set in its own era (1949) or a hundred years earlier. It is however not a formula Western (nothing wrong with those BTW, I love 'em) as much as it is a human story that takes place in that setting.ATPH strikes some chords that always appeal to me. For one thing the characters are realistic and likable; you care about them. You get to know them and what happens to them matters enough that to a degree it also happens to you, like seeing someone belt your best buddy. It hurts you too. Well, that's how these characters are to me. You can't just sit by and watch what happens to them without feeling it. Additionally, it takes a simple story and makes it much more interesting by introducing an additional element - in this case, a brilliant element in the person of Jimmy Blevins, a free soul who claims to be sixteen years old. (Lucas Black who played the role was about seventeen at the time, so the role is credible. How many 25 year old teenagers have you seen in movies? I've seen plenty.)Disenchanted with their lives in Texas, sixteen-year-old John Grady Cole and his lifelong buddy Lacey Rawlins set out on horseback for Mexico, hoping to find work on a ranch just like in the 'old days'. En route they encounter the eccentric young Jimmy Blevins, and while outwardly they regard him with disdain, beneath the surface they do actually come to like him. But Blevins is a loose cannon who brings about the plot twists that drive the story. In the next couple of months the trio will face dangers and hardship and other problems in Mexico which they had never anticipated. There will be a brief love affair for one of them; there will be a hellish and dangerous time spent in prison; and while three young men cross the Rio Grande into Mexico, only two will survive to return. This is not a story of violence and killing though there is some of that in it. This is a human story about several people, most of all John Grady Cole. All the cast played their roles quite well. I think that Lucas Black, who played the 'loose cannon' Jimmy Blevins, had a couple of small advantages - the most eccentric role to play, and his own natural accent which made it possible for him to deliver all his lines in a totally believable way even when he is saying something barely above a mumble. Also, the veteran Western character actor Bruce Dern makes an appearance as a wise old judge and it may be one of the best roles he ever played. If I can say anything negative about this movie it is only that being a movie, it was not possible to include as much of the plot as the original book contains. If you enjoy the movie, you will like the book even more. I understand that there was a 'director's cut' which was substantially longer than the released version and I know I would enjoy seeing it, if it became available.I didn't see 'All The Pretty Horses' until it was a dozen years old, and that's too bad because I could have been enjoying it for a lot longer. It's an excellent story and a well-made movie which I recommend highly.

Somewhere out there is Billy Bob Thornton's original cut of All the Pretty Horses, said to run over three hours in length. The only version currently available is the bare bones of said film, which is comprised of jumps from narrative sequence to narrative sequence, allowing little time for the audience to take stock of what is going on and with no respect for Thornton's artistic vision.I saw one reviewer said that this film 'takes us nowhere'. Obviously this is not strictly true, but I can understand what he is trying to get at. The fact that half the running time has been brutally slashed means that we can no longer be immersed in the wonders or brutal realities of the environments that our characters find themselves - such aspects being key to the novels of Cormac McCarthy, on whose fantastic work this film is based.Having read the book, I was thus still able to enjoy the film as I knew the characters and knew what was going on. It would be interesting to watch it again without knowledge of the novel. Yes, Damon and Cruz's relationship lacked a certain spark, but surely their chemistry would have been allowed more time to build up in Thornton's original cut? I still found their relationship to be just fine, although I wasn't exactly struck down with emotion in the moments when perhaps I should be. But the actors seem to have taken a lot of stick for these performances, which is incredibly harsh, on Damon especially.Damon does the little things so well, adjusting his eyes and body language or flashing a tiny smile at the perfect moments. Why some viewers are so intent on bashing him is beyond me... his performance here is realistic and down to earth, just like the character that he inhabits.In terms of filmmaking the cinematography is beautiful in parts, yet the inclusion of stunning vistas seems obligatory and rushed. We are allowed no time to dwell on these environments and, interspersed with the narrative sequences, the film runs like a checklist (even more noticeable if you have read the book). All the right boxes are ticked, but this movie could be so much more enjoyable if taken out of the hands of studio Nazis and allowed its freedom.

Just as Matt Damon was able to cast aside his New England accent for a Tennessee one in The Rainmaker and use it to great affect in Good Will Hunting, he cast aside again for the Texas tones needed for All The Pretty Horses. The man's got a good ear for speech idiom, he could be a worthy successor to Robert Mitchum in that department.From a novel by Cormac McCarthy and directed by Billy Bob Thornton who also has a good ear and feel for idiom and mores of the Southwest, All The Pretty Horses is about a couple of friends who go across the border into Mexico for work. Damon's been cheated out of a ranch he was expecting to inherit and he and friend Henry Thomas go south. They find both work and trouble and Damon finds romance. How they all intertwine is the story of All The Pretty Horses.Damon's romance is with Penelope Cruz, the daughter of Ruben Blades the owner of the ranch they find work on, breaking mustangs. The two come up against both Latino culture and Texas culture and how they really clash. Trouble starts for Damon and Thomas though when they pick up young runaway kid Lucius Black who's got some real issues with authority and a bad upbringing. His actions start the trouble for everyone involved.But Black in fact steals the film from the more well known stars. I'm surprised he wasn't considered Oscar material for Best Supporting Actor. His performances succeeds on so many levels as likable, goofy, but definitely trouble riding a horse.All The Pretty Horses is a good film where director Billy Bob Thornton does a great job with his cast and with capturing the mood and ambiance of that Rio Grande border country on both sides.