May 12, 2001 11:18 PM
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Even though the best selling novel All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy's is magnificent, the movie is a flop. Last night I settled down in front of the TV expecting a romantic western type drama but instead only found disappointment.
All The Pretty Horses stars Matt Damon (Saving Private Ryan, Good Will Hunting) and Penelope Cruz (Don Juan, Hi-Lo Country). The director is Billy Bob Thornton who is most commonly associated with directing and staring in the Oscar winning film Sling Blade. With popularity of the stars and being a fan of Billy Bob Thornton I was expecting something decent and worth spending a night watching. I was wrong! Instead during the movie I found that...
All The Pretty Horses goes at a very slow pace. There are a few interesting twists and turns in the movie, but they are underdeveloped.
Billy Bob gives characters that had little importance to the plot a great deal of screen time, while not developing the main characters enough.
Noticeable cuts in the movie where scenes had been taken out. Originally this movie was over 3 hrs long and Billy Bob was forced to cut a lot of the material. The movie would have been better with the material left intact.
The Relationship between Damon and Cruz's characters is underdeveloped.
Lots of Lingering on faces. This happens especially toward the end of the movie.
All The Pretty Horses was a disappointment, but there is some good camera work. The scenery throughout the movie is stunning and perhaps the only reason I could think of to watch the movie. Instead of watching the movie I recommend reading the best selling book. It may take a while longer, but you will definitely be more satisfied and realize what a masterpiece this film could have been.
