All the Pretty Horses

All the Pretty Horses

D: Billy Bob Thornton; with Matt Damon, Penelope Cruz, Henry Thomas, Ruben Blades, Lucas Black, Robert Patrick, Bruce Dern.

All the Pretty Horses is Billy Bob Thornton’s much-anticipated follow-up to his award-winning directing debut, Sling Blade. Along with switching domestic distribution from one company to another, the movie’s release date has also been repeatedly postponed (as has Thornton’s other supposedly-in-the-can feature, Daddy and Them), which usually spells disaster in Hollywood-speak, but might just mean Miramax thinks it has a winner on its hands, worthy of the Oscar rat race a December release necessarily means. Adapted from the highly celebrated novel by Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses tracks WWII vet and countrified cowboy John Grady Cole (Damon) down to Mexico where he falls in love with his rancher boss’ beautiful yet unattainable daughter (Cruz). The trailer previews some gorgeous footage, as well as the always stunning Cruz, but All the Pretty Horses still faces an uphill battle: Devotees of the book think pretty boy Damon is a little too pretty to play the rugged ranch hand, and, just weeks away from its release, Thornton’s reportedly still cutting the meaty three-hour-plus film down to a more manageable length. (Dec. 25)

This article appears in November 24 • 2000.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US

A graduate of the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas, Kimberley has written about film, books, and pop culture for The Austin Chronicle since 2000. She was named Editor of the Chronicle in 2016; she previously served as the paper’s Managing Editor, Screens Editor, Books Editor, and proofreader. Her work has been awarded by the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for excellence in arts criticism, team reporting, and special section (Best of Austin). The Austin Alliance for Women...