It’s easy for citified folks to misunderstand the essentials of life on the range, just as it would be easy to get lost in the vast rangelands of Texas and Mexico. Billy Bob Thornton gives every impression of not being overly citified, but he still gets sadly lost in the production of All the Pretty Horses, an attractive, slow-moving film that cries out to be appreciated. It’s apparent early on that this is as much an ode to simple life on the unspoiled range as it is a film with a story to tell. And this is a good thing, as the storyline is easily the film’s weakest element.
This mini-reunion of child stars includes Henry Thomas (E.T. the Extraterrestrial) and Lucas Black (Sling Blade) in the cast, joining Matt Damon on the trail to Mexico. Thomas plays Lacey Rawlins, best buddy of John Grady Cole (Damon), who’s heading south to Mexico to live and work in wide-open ranch country. Along the way, they are joined by young Jimmy Blevins (Black), on the run from his abusive stepfather and intent on joining the two wranglers.
After John and Lacey get themselves jobs at a massive Mexican ranch, their efforts to break horses garner John a cushy job as trusted advisor to the ranch’s wealthy owner (Ruben Blades). Things start getting complicated when John also takes a shine to the big guy’s daughter, Alejandra (Penelope Cruz). Something’s got to give and it soon does, as John and Lacey find themselves dragged off by the police and implicated in Blevins’ indiscretions.
The movie wobbles through scenes spent away from the wide-open country, including time spent in prison and the intrigue and sentimentality that follows. None of this really works, as this is a film that’s comfortable in the saddle, but sadly confused the rest of the time. John and Alejandra’s forbidden romance, while vital to the storyline, seems shallow in comparison with John’s (and –apparently – Thornton’s) love of the landscape. The intrigue seems similarly half-hearted.
These failings tarnish a nice-looking film that benefits from reasonably strong performances. Damon is confident and strong, Thomas is a capable – and appropriately morose – sidekick, and Cruz, although her character is the shallowest of all, comes across as charismatic, spirited and exotically beautiful. Some of the smaller parts are also well acted, including Sam Shepard as a sympathetic but helpless lawyer and family friend and Bruce Dern as a kindly judge.
Dern’s character is the most notable example of the film’s disturbing undercurrent – its simplistic portrayal of the Mexican legal system as entirely corrupt and arbitrary, contrasted with the eminently reasonable and fair U.S. system. I think you’d find a few Mexicans – not to mention Mexican-Americans – with a slightly different view of this comparison.
The unravelling of All the Pretty Horses is a disappointment, as Thornton has shown with Sling Blade that he’s capable of telling a compelling story. Unfortunately, with this one, we’ll just need to enjoy the scenery and wait for next time.
The direction of Billy Bob Thornton and the acting are top notch, but the story betrays its uncomplicated nature and is ruined by the superfluous subplots.- Derek Smith
