All the Pretty Horses is a 2000 film, directed by Billy Bob Thornton and based on the novel of the same title by American author Cormac McCarthy. It stars Matt Damon and Penélope Cruz.
Plot summary
The movie tells the story of John Grady Cole, a sixteen year old cowboy, and his best friend Lacey Rawlins, crossing the border to move south to Mexico.
They encounter, among others, a young boy named Jimmy Blevins, whom they befriend, and a young aristocrat’s daughter, Alejandra, with whom John Grady Cole falls in love. In Mexico he becomes disillusioned by the atrocities of the world.
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 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 characters were also derided as undeveloped, and some reviewers considered there to be a lack of chemistry between the lead actors. The film’s sweeping visuals, however, were consistently praised.
