All the Pretty Horses (2000)

32% of critics liked it
(99 reviews)
42% of users liked it
(11,413 ratings)

Director Billy Bob Thornton explores coming of age in this Western based on Cormac McCarthy's prize-winning novel of the same name. John Grady Cole (Matt Damon) and Lacey Rawlins (Henry Thomas) are young Texan men who seek a more fulfilling life as cowboys in the slowly fading Old West, circa 1949.… More Director Billy Bob Thornton explores coming of age in this Western based on Cormac McCarthy's prize-winning novel of the same name. John Grady Cole (Matt Damon) and Lacey Rawlins (Henry Thomas) are young Texan men who seek a more fulfilling life as cowboys in the slowly fading Old West, circa 1949. One night, the duo head for Mexico in hope of finding some adventure and employment, and along the way run into Blevins (Lucas Black), an even younger drifter who has supposedly stolen a horse from private property. Begrudgingly, Cole and Rawlins take him under their wing before they eventually find themselves in Mexico, working for a wealthy landowner (Ruben Blades). His stalwart and beautiful daughter Alejandra (Penelope Cruz) develops a romantic interest in Cole, which threatens the friendship between him and Rawlins, not to mention their living quarters, where Alejandra's watchful aunt (Miriam Colon) warns Cole that she has professed allegiance to her. Cole and Rawlins' thrill-seeking adventures with Blevins and the stolen horse catch up to them, however, and they are held prisoners in a brutal penitentiary, where their cowboy instincts are put to the ultimate test. Cole, meanwhile, wants nothing more than to get back to Alejandra and resume their love affair. The film also features Bruce Dern in a small role as a judge who eventually gives much-desired guidance to Cole. ~ Jason Clark, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 56 min.
Directed By: Billy Bob Thornton
Written By: Ted Tally
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Drama

In Theaters: Dec 25, 2000 Wide
On DVD: May 8, 2001
Studio: Miramax

Critic Reviews

Joel Siegel, Good Morning America
Damon is 30 and Cruz will soon be 27, and they look it. And there goes the drama.
Steve Mirarchi, Boston Globe
McCarthy's novel employs the coming of age narrative in service of his sanguineous spiritual vision, and for the film to renounce that philosophy is to give up its soul and be rendered lifeless.
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star
Lovely but disengaging, mysterious but uninvolving, physical but strangely remote.
Susan Stark, Detroit News
Working from Ted Tally's casually artful script, director Billy Bob Thornton guides Matt Damon, Henry Thomas and Penelope Cruz to their most impressive performances in a major movie yet.
Ted Murphy, Hollywood.com
What is on screen is impressive, even with the sense of something missing.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Not a disaster as rumored to be, just a disappointing adaptation of a great novel. Thonrton fails to dramatize in visually or dramatically satisfying ways the hero's odyssey from innocence to experience, from childish game to acting with honor.
John Venable, Supercala.com
I'm a fan of all involved, but this is a really tough watch.
Jeffrey Overstreet, Looking Closer
The movie that resulted from the studio's demand for cuts ... is a big-screen Cliff's Notes for the novel.
Tom Grealis, RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)
Despite a script which remains faithful to the sparse language of the novel, and some breathtaking cinematography, the whole production feels too lethargic.
Gabriel Shanks, Mixed Reviews
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.
Ron Wells, Film Threat
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.

Read all 11 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Sophie B

An ok film overall. Great aesthetics but the narrative wasn't really shown too well. I'll have to read the book and find out if that's McCarthys fault or the makers of this film. It had hints of a summer romance film but didn't quite get there which is a shame… More
An ok film overall. Great aesthetics but the narrative wasn't really shown too well. I'll have to read the book and find out if that's McCarthys fault or the makers of this film. It had hints of a summer romance film but didn't quite get there which is a shame since performances were good.
Cynthia S

I thought that this was a really good movie, despite alot of bad reviews. I say this even though I am not a Penelope Cruz fan, but I AM a Matt Damon fan...so this probably helped my opinion. I think that he did a fantastic job. I thought that this was going to be primarily a love… More
I thought that this was a really good movie, despite alot of bad reviews. I say this even though I am not a Penelope Cruz fan, but I AM a Matt Damon fan...so this probably helped my opinion. I think that he did a fantastic job. I thought that this was going to be primarily a love story, but it was so much more than that.
Bruce B

Not really a western but a way of life. This is a graet flix, Matt plays an excellent part, not sure why I missed it when it was in the theathers. Worth adding to your collection
Lafe F

I liked the scenes when they are sent to a harsh Mexican prison. The romantic storyline didn't interest me too much.
Cameron J

Billy Bob Thornton must be some kind of self-hating redneck, because his films are so redneck that they're just plain offensive. Seriously, in "Sling Blade", they may as well have specified that his mental disability was "Redneckitis". Well, ladies and… More
Billy Bob Thornton must be some kind of self-hating redneck, because his films are so redneck that they're just plain offensive. Seriously, in "Sling Blade", they may as well have specified that his mental disability was "Redneckitis". Well, ladies and gentlemen, ol' Billy Bob is back, and this time, he's taking on a western drama about cowboys; and sure enough, this film is so redneck that I was waiting for them to lynch the title to this film, because this is probably the gayest title to a western that I've ever heard. Heath Ledger's ghost is somewhere, staring down at this film in a bargain bin at Wal-Mart and saying, "Wow, that is a gay-sounding western." Wow, a gay "and" Heath Ledger joke, at the same time; now that's offensive. Maybe this is a case of misery loves company, seeing as I'm really offended right now, because I'll be a monkey's uncle if they didn't make the goofiest, most numbskull, thickly-accented redneck of the entire film the only Alabamian in the cast; but hey, that's Lucas Black's thing: setting us back a few decades. Okay, in all honesty, outside of Mr. Black, the film isn't that rednecky, but even if it was, you wouldn't notice, because exaggerated characters would be hidden, somewhere, in the midst of this film's big pile of other problems. Now, I said that the film isn't too rednecky; I never said that it wasn't stereotypical, not just in the character department, but in the film department, because this rather refreshing idea for a western goes rather unfulfilled, because Billy Bob Thornton is too artistic to the point of being sappy. When the dramatic aspects come into play, Thornton is overemphatic on the atmosphere, so much so that after a while, the resonance loses steam and feels melodramatic to an overly theatrical, very generic state. That lack of emotional resonance isn't helped by the fact that it's hard to tell what's going on, seeing as this film has "so" many subplots. Of course, no matter which subplot we're on, the film seems to skim through it, rushing through scene, after scene, which of course takes a blow to later character development, and by extension, Matt Damon and Penélope Cruz's chemistry. The film isn't terribly disappointing, but there is definately a squandering of potential, because if Thornton to loosen up a bit on the extreme artistry, tighten up some scenes, add some more exposition and smoothly extend this film - seeing as there's too much here to comfortably cover in just under two hours -, this would have been an excellent western. Of course, for it be just that close to excellence, the film would have to still have a lot of strengths; and sure enough, the film has plenty that's good about it. I wish I could say that the film really delivers emotionally, but from an entertainment standpoint, this film is actually pretty fun and lively. The score to this film is really good, having that traditional western sound, but with a bit of a refreshing twist that brings a lot of spirit and life to this film, almost as much as the production designs. There's nothing tremendous about the production, but it still captures the essence and scope of this wester environment, yet there is still enough of a contemporary tone to remind you that this is the 1940s, one of last few years of rural western life. I disagree with those who deem the film totally uninvolving, because while it doesn't live up to its potential as a drama, it's still an entertaining film. However, speaking of the drama, no matter how messily Thornton handles it, there is a degree of it that does, in fact, ring true, almost entirely because the performers try their hearts out. Now, I have a tendency to overstate "just good" performances, and yes, these performances in here are "just good", but that's "just good" attract your attention. Matt Damon, Henry Thomas and yes, even the very offensive Lucas Black are all charismatic leads, delivering their snappy dialogue charmingly, but when dramatic aspects come along, they're compelling. Again, our leads aren't terribly solid, but they're not suppose to be; they all just play along, not trying to one-up each other, and develop sharp chemistry in their relationship, and seeing as their relationship is most prominent, they carry the film with their charm. In the end, its briefness, sometimes generically melodramatic tone and messily-handled massive amound of subplots dilute dramatic resonance and squander some pretty high potential, but thanks to the lively production, as well as sharply charismatic lead performances by Damon, Thomas and Black, "All the Pretty Horses" is left a thoroughly entertaining film; improvable though, it may be. 2.5/5 - Fair
Sarah P

As in most of these cases, I liked the book better. This movie stayed pretty close to the book though, which for me is always a plus. I thought it was good, but not great.
Daisy M

All The Pretty Horses was a beautiful movie with wonderful acting, some humor and marvelous cinematography.Directed by Billy Bob Thornton, he did a great job in creating images that were breathtaking with nature beauty scenes.Matt Damon played a young cowboy, trying to find adventure… More
All The Pretty Horses was a beautiful movie with wonderful acting, some humor and marvelous cinematography.Directed by Billy Bob Thornton, he did a great job in creating images that were breathtaking with nature beauty scenes.Matt Damon played a young cowboy, trying to find adventure in his real passion: horses.The supporting role by Henry Thomas and Lucas Black was also good. What was a little disappointment to me was the lack of chemistry between Penelope Cruz and Matt Damon, they didn't seem in love. It was good that love part was just a small aspect in this movie. It was more about friendship, loyalty, adventure, and surviving. In the beginning the plot seemed a little too slow,then it catch up so good in the nearly last part. Not bad.
Juli R

Damon gives a good, understated performance. But maybe he is edgier as a bad boy. There is no spark between Damon and Cruz. This movie does not do justice to Cormac McCarthy's excellent novel. Director Billy Bob Thornton's take is just too simple.
deb .

This film was based on another book by Cormac McCarthy (No Country For Old Men, The Road). The scenes play out upon a stunning background of New Mexico, beautiful horses, Matt Damon and Penelope Cruz. The story lagged in places but it's a sweet movie.<br> "I knew… More
This film was based on another book by Cormac McCarthy (No Country For Old Men, The Road). The scenes play out upon a stunning background of New Mexico, beautiful horses, Matt Damon and Penelope Cruz. The story lagged in places but it's a sweet movie.<br> "I knew from the first time I seen him, that son of a bitch had a loose wing nut!"
Marion R

I didn't feel emotional attached to Damon's character and the way the film ended made it feel incomplete. It was just okay.
Leo L

A good movie!