Movie · 2000 · Drama, Romance, Western · 1h 57m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 1.0/10 (16.5K ratings)
Some passions can never be tamed.
Overview
The year is 1949. A young Texan named John Grady finds himself without a home after his mother sells the ranch where he has spent his entire life. Lured south of the border by the romance of cowboy life and the promise of a fresh start, Cole and his pal embark on an adventure that will test their resilience, define their maturity, and change their lives forever.
Ratings
Curator score: 1.0/10
IMDb: 5.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 32%
Metacritic: 55
TMDB: 5.7/10
Director
Billy Bob Thornton
Production
Miramax, Columbia Pictures
Cast
Matt Damon, Henry Thomas, Lucas Black, Penélope Cruz, Rubén Blades, Robert Patrick, Julio Oscar Mechoso, Angelina Torres, J.D. Young, Laura Poe, Sam Shepard, Yvette Diaz, Imelda Colindres, Augustin Solis, Elizabeth Ibarra, Miriam Colon, Lonnie Rodriguez, Raul Malo, Fredrick Lopez, Ferron Lucero Jr.
Curator Review
Verdict
A handsome, melancholy Western romance with strong atmosphere and a compelling premise, but the famously compromised edit leaves it feeling truncated and emotionally undercooked. Worth it for fans of Cormac McCarthy, frontier stories, and late-20th-century studio Westerns, less so if you want a fully satisfying adaptation.
Best for
Cormac McCarthy fans
Viewers drawn to doomed romance and frontier melancholy
People who enjoy polished but imperfect studio Westerns
Fans of Matt Damon-era star vehicles
Skip if
You want a faithful, fully realized adaptation
You need brisk pacing and a tight narrative
You dislike films that feel cut down in post-production
You prefer action-forward Westerns over moody character pieces
Overview
All the Pretty Horses has the bones of a great Western: young men chasing freedom, a border crossing that turns romantic longing into danger, and a landscape that seems to swallow everyone who rides into it. The film is often at its best when it slows down and lets the dust, horses, and silence do the work. There’s a real ache in the central coming-of-age story, and the cast gives it sincerity even when the movie around them feels unstable.
Worth noting
The problem is that the movie never quite settles into the tragic sweep it seems to want. The editing is choppy, the emotional turns arrive too abruptly, and the sense of a larger, darker novel has clearly been compressed into something more conventional. You can feel the missing version in almost every scene, which makes the film frustrating as an adaptation but still intermittently compelling as a mood piece.
Bottom line
If you’re interested in Westerns that lean toward romance, fatalism, and youth on the edge of adulthood, there’s enough here to recommend. If you’re coming for a definitive McCarthy adaptation, this is more of a near-miss than a triumph.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Ben Hibburd (2.5★) · 170 likes
Oh boy. Where do I even start with this one?
I think the best place to start is to state that I’m a massive, massive fan of Cormac McCarthy. If it wasn’t for his novel “The Road,” I don’t think I would’ve ever considered reading as something that can be done for enjoyment. Growing up, I’ve always struggled with dyslexia (as I’m sure my writing indicates), and I never felt motivated to read. However, McCarthy’s poetic, sumptuous writing spoke to… more
Zach a.m. (3★) · 114 likes
According to IMDb, Jesse Plemons was cast as a young Matt Damon.
Is that not the greatest piece of casting ever? And that was at 12 years before anybody knew Plemons as 'Meth Damon'.
Anyway. This was really terribly edited but you can feel the magic of a better movie sitting in there somewhere, potentially on Billy Bob's DVD shelf, which, again according to IMDb, he apparently owns. It'd be nice to see that version. It's well-shot, well-written (duh), it just doesn't reek of poetry the way it should.
Jared (2.5★) · 89 likes
I am currently reading Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian, so I’ve decided to view his books that were adapted to films. I’ve already seen The Road and No Country for Old Men, so I figured I’d give All the Pretty Horses a shot, and, unfortunately, the version I saw didn’t come close to the other two adaptations. The film was massacred by post-editing. All because studios didn’t want the 3 hour cut Thorton intended to be shown, an absolute shame because a darker… more I am currently reading Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian, so I’ve decided to view his books that were adapted to films. I’ve already seen The Road and No Country for Old Men, so I figured I’d give All the Pretty Horses a shot, and, unfortunately, the version I saw didn’t come close to the other two adaptations. The film was massacred by post-editing. All because studios didn’t want the 3 hour cut Thorton intended to be shown, an absolute shame because a darker… more
ZaraGwen (2.5★) · 70 likes
Would have preferred it if it had suddenly turned into Brokeback Mountain
Jacob Saenger (3.5★) · 55 likes
Any cowboy worth his weight in horseshoes will ride to the ends of the earth for a Latina
2007 · Crime, Thriller, Western · 2h 2m · R · Curator 9.6/10 (3.1M ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, MGM Plus, Philo
Another McCarthy adaptation that captures his fatalism and moral desolation with far greater control.