by Rex
Reed
In a movie year marked for demolition by the blatant consistency of its mediocrity, a few year-end pearls have finally appeared among the discarded oyster shells. All the Pretty Horses, a faithful rendering of the literary classic by Cormac McCarthy, is a western saga that charts the odyssey of John Grady (Matt Damon), a young cowboy who loses his grandfather’s ranch in West Texas in 1949 to tax debts and family greed, but never relinquishes his love for wide-open spaces. Searching for freedom from hobbles and fences, Grady rounds up his best buddy, Rawlins (Henry Thomas), another saddle tramp as tough as a battered Stetson, and they travel from their childhood homes in San Angelo, Texas, through the sagebrush and cactus of the Panhandle, to cross the Rio Grande into Mexico.
Finding work branding cattle and breaking wild mustangs for a wealthy rancher (Rubén Blades), Grady finds romance with the rancher’s daughter (Penélope Cruz), opposition from her stern, thorny aunt (a brilliant, show-stopping bit by the marvelous Miriam Colon, in a role originally intended for Katy Jurado), and an unexpected ally in a runaway teenager named Blevins (Lucas Black). Wrongly accused of being horse thieves, all three boys are thrown into a time-forgotten Mexican prison where they experience harrowing, life-changing horrors.
Sensitively helmed by Billy Bob Thornton, who is as meticulous a director as he is an actor, and written with an ear for the understated cadence of calloused Westerners by Ted Tally, All the Pretty Horses is about loyalty, friendship, honor and love among men who have a hard time showing real feelings. It’s a rugged canvas of life among a dying breed of young people still in love with the land at a time when the West was changing forever, gorgeously photographed by Barry Markowitz with a fresh feel for the ink-blue skies and orange prairies of the great outdoors.
The remarkable cast is outstanding. Mr. Damon gives one of his most solid and inspired performances, Mr. Thomas is heartbreaking as a boy with decency and principles who kills a man in self-defense and is tortured by the moral consequences, and young Mr. Black (the 18-year-old Alabama high school student with an authentic Southern accent as down home as ’possum stew, who was discovered by Mr. Thornton in Swing Blade) is just plain perfect. Mr. Thornton’s personal stamp is self-evident in the way he illuminates the hard alliance between boys growing into men and the endless sweep of unchartered land they cherish, giving us the gift of his own poetic vision in the process. A film with the page-turning adventure and courage of boy’s-book splendor, it’s a rare and exemplary work of intelligence, beauty, tragedy, humor and artistry.
(if only for more like that - more bad reviews in the Texas papers today)
Felicity
Billy Bob Thornton’s All the Pretty Horses, while remaining faithful to the plot of and striving for the spirit of Cormac McCarthy’s award-winning novel, misses the small moments, the silences between the words that the book captures so indelibly. For contractual reasons, these moments seem to have been left on the cutting room floor. There are glimmers of them, of course, as in the shot in the opening credits: wild horses running at night, the noise of galloping hooves all around and the film seemingly overexposed.
But that moment, and others like it, are few and far between. Instead, we’re treated to a rollicking adventure story for about the first half of the movie. And it works quite well. Nearly gone is McCarthy’s subtext about dying cultures and vanishing ways of life, but that absence is filled by some great moments as well as a few grand vistas. Matt Damon, as John Grady Cole, and Henry Thomas, as Lacey Rawlins, seem to inhabit these boys, young men who are aware that they are in a sense posers and interlopers. They are not real cowboys, and they know it. Better still is Lucas Black, as Jimmy Blevins. These three and their adventures form the heart and soul of the film.
But even here, during these wonderful scenes and set-pieces (John Grady’s breaking the horses, for instance, is quite compelling film-making), the pace is so hurried that it’s hard to enjoy McCarthy’s laconic and earthy dialog for what it is. The movie is simply too fast.
Enter Alejandra, portrayed with grace and beauty by Penelope Cruz. When John Grady sees her for the first time, both are on horseback. No dialogue between them. Just Grady, looking as though he’s been struck dumb. The scene, brilliantly shot and scripted, puts one in mind of Michael Corleone’s meeting Appolonia in The Godfather – "he’s been struck by the thunderbolt." It’s too bad there aren’t more scenes like this one. Cruz does as well as could be expected; and though some have said that she and Damon lack chemistry, the problem seems not to be with the actors but with the pacing of the film.
There are small and tender moments here, but the editing rushes them, so they have no impact. The same is true throughout the film. The grand vistas and sparse beauty of Mexico as well as the edenic setting of the ranch are beautifully shot, but seem to be here only to remind us that we’re in the West and not on a big sinking boat. Shot of John Grady. Shot of Alejandra. Shot of La Purisma, a few horses running. Move on. Pick up the pace, we don’t have time to linger.
But lingering is precisely the point of All the Pretty Horses. The problem is that the story keeps intruding. Because it has to end in two hours. So the whole latter half of the film rushes headlong to its conclusion, and once it arrives, the audience isn’t sufficiently emotionally invested in the characters to care. Additionally, several people are credited who are nowehere to be found in the final cut. And more’s the pity.
Billy Bob Thornton’s film works like Cliffs Notes for the novel. All the basic plot points are here; not much else survived the editing process. That’s unfortunate, because what’s here, even in its truncated form, is remarkably good. Those who have read the novel will be pleased, because they’re capable of filling in the gaps left by the clumsiness of the cut. Thornton himself said it best; to paraphrase him, if the studio had wanted an hour and fifteen minute chase flick, it should have bought one.
This was not that movie, and Thornton’s valiant attempt to make the movie he wanted is not well served by the hatchet job this movie received. What’s survived is remarkable; what was removed could have made it great.
***
Isn't that a worthy piece - quite a few reviews so far have said that they would rather watch a three hour film than 120 minutes of highlights. Did Miramax err?
Pretty Festive | |
All the Pretty Horses played just as well for me the
second time as it did the first. It's a lovingly rendered,
beautifully edited, mostly satisfying film, but for some reason it's
getting dumped on by the big guns. The kindest review I could find
is in Time, calling it "a perfectly coherent, handsomely
rendered couple of hours" that "might have been more
… [but] it could easily have been a lot less."
Sometimes I just don't swing with the crowd. All the Pretty Horses is a real Western, steeped in scenic beauty and meditation and spirituality. It is also, by any movie-going standard, a very full meal. I can't imagine anyone except for my film-critic friends coming out of it feeling burned. If you're going it might be a good idea to have a double cappuccino before it starts. It's not boring, but it is somewhat … well, pastoral. I saw it again at a Sunday-night premiere at Westwood's Bruin Theatre. I then went to an after-party under a big, warm, comfortable tent erected in a nearby parking lot. Matt Damon wasn't there, but director Billy Bob Thornton was. Ditto Horses co-stars Penelope Cruz, Henry Thomas, and Robert Patrick. Bruce Willis was at the screening and the after-party, as were Peter Falk and Jon Voight. The film was supposed to begin at 5 p.m. (which means 5:30, because premiere screenings always start at least a half-hour late). I arrived early to get a decent seat. 95% of the seats at premiere screenings are reserved for VIP's and their friends, leaving only a few rows for journalists and other second-tier types. I'd met Billy Bob a couple of times before — at an IFP Spirit Awards ceremony three or four years ago, and then on the set of Armageddon in late '97 on the Disney lot. I happened to be in the lobby when he walked in, and he smiled and said hello without my trying to get his attention. That's unusual. But then Billy Bob's a friendly, folksy guy. Talking to a celebrity at one of these things can sometimes take as long as 10 or 15 minutes, depending on the number of competitors. You have to position yourself nearby, then start to move in through the circle without being too pushy. Then, when you're finally close enough, you have to jump into the conversation at just the right "lull" moment without seeming rude or too desperate. It's a lot of work. Too much, I think. Billy Bob stood in front with a mike and introduced the film. He said he really loved it and was proud of his work, but he seemed a little unsure of what others might think. He said that making a film was "like disembowelling yourself with a sharp rock." |
And Felicity wrote further from Boston:
The new EW has a story on the actors with two shots for Oscar nods this year, Matt's mentioned and it says only what we know, that the push will be for Horses. The latest issue includes reviews of films including Cast Away, so my bet is that the next will be a double issue, possibly featuring Horses.
The computer won't let me look at the EW page, but there's a story which says Matt is an Oscar contender in a "smaller film".
(Here's an excerpt from the story:
To make it an even dozen, let's throw two final names into the hat: Matt Damon, whose work in ''All the Pretty Horses'' could make him a contender for a third nomination (he won for writing ''Good Will Hunting'' and was also up for acting), and Ralph Fiennes, who has the virtue of playing three
roles in the epic ''Sunshine.'' ...)
Cultural reference: a new play in New York (Old Money) has a character that's a director who has just re-made Citizen Kane with Matt.
Haven't found Premiere yet but the latest Ocean Drive has a feature with Penelope (Madonna cover). Couldn't view the article when I saw it.
I haven't seen the Pretty Horses (not even the trailer at a Miramax movie!), or a poster. Apparently it is now going to open on less than 1,000 screens to gauge audience response.
Did you see this from yahoo - article about the number of movies with Spanish ties this season:
"I do not care how much an American practices the accent. The only way to play a good role is to speak Spanish fluently and become immersed in the culture," Matt Damon said in defense of co-star Cruz after director Billy Bob Thornton convinced the studios of the need to hire someone who knows the language.
Anyone catch this tonight? An illuminating program. Billy Bob comes across as a brilliant, authentic, and good natured person, though more than one person (including Billy himself) comments that he's borderline crazy. Like Matt, he also seemed genuninely attuned to the lives of people less fortunate than he. One producer (and former lover) mentioned that once she gave Billy Bob a pair of boots that he had really coveted, after which, he actually cried. He said that whenever he gets something like that, he can't help but think of all the people who will never have boots like that. Matt is generous in his praise throughout the program (in which he wears, of course, a black sweater and his favorite Panavision cap).
There are several behind-the-scenes segments from ATPH, though they look like ones we've seen before. However, the best part was the very end of the program when Matt is with Billy and his friends at the Nashville recording studio. Matt is among friends who sing with Billy, and there's quite a bit of friendly joshing between them. Matt and Billy both seem to do their Robert Duvall impersonations, as well as some other southern accented scenes that seem improvised. During the credits, Billy puts his hand on Matt's shoulder and says, "I tease my young friend here, but the love I have for this kid..." Matt looks up and they both start laughing. The program ends with Matt doing a hilarious Slingblade impersonation, after which Billy tells him, "You're going to have to put your chin out there if you're going to do that role." Matt complies with comic effectiveness. Matt then says with embarrassment, pointing to the camera, "Now it's on video." Billy answers, "It's not on video..." , then in unison, they say,"it's on Bravo!" Much laughter.
It was a bit strange to see Matt hanging out with Thornton and his buddies, all of whom are older and considerably more southern than Matt. Made me wonder what the attraction was. Then, as I was rewinding the tape, I reviewed a segment in which Billy Bob talked about his younger brother Jimmy Don who died in 1988. Apparently, the two were very close. I recalled that old PREMIERE quote in which Thornton mentioned that he "immediately felt a sort of big brother connection" to Matt. Then I looked at Jimmy Don's tombstone. He was thirty when he died--Matt's age. One can't help but speculate that Matt somehow fills a hole in Thornton's life. As for Matt's interest, it seems that Thornton is what Matt imagines he would like to be--a talented actor, writer and director who remains true to his origins and the people he came from.
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Yet more discussion on the Pretty Horses running time, from reel.com:
The Incredible Shrinking Western
Billy Bob Thornton's All the Pretty Horses, the Matt Damon/Penelope Cruz Western that Miramax is opening on 1,800 screens Christmas Day, keeps getting shorter and shorter.
Based on the Cormac McCarthy prize-winning novel, Horses is supposed to be a prestige holiday release for Miramax, but it's mainly acquired the rep of being a film that can't seem to leave the editing room or decide on a final commercial length. It started at around three hours � by the time it opens on Christmas Day it may be down to 113 minutes.
After principal photography ended in June '99, and as Thornton began editing it for release by Sony Pictures, the word was that he'd shot Horses with an eye for the pastoral and that the finished cut would probably run about three hours.
Greg Dean Schmitz's Web site Upcoming Movies also reported that an early cut had run a whopping 240 minutes. I also heard during '99 that Horses might turn out be a little shorter, or two hours and 50 minutes.
But Thornton kept editing and editing, and Sony, I kept hearing, wasn't especially thrilled with how things were turning out. Too slow, too many master shots, etc. Sony eventually swapped responsibility for the domestic distribution of Horses last August with Miramax, the international rights holder, who passed these over to Sony.
A key point in the Miramax deal was that Thornton would deliver a two hour, 15-minute cut. (A source close to the project says honcho Harvey Weinstein "never demanded [this] ... the shorter cut was part of a contractual obligation from Sony�s side.")
Now, with Thornton's film less than a month away from opening, I'm hearing that even shorter cuts of Horses have been tried and test-screened. On Thursday morning, a post-production technician who answered the phone at the Horses editing facility said the current length of the film is just shy of one hour and 53 minutes. With credits, it's about three minutes longer.
I'm also hearing that Thornton hasn't been all that vigorously involved in the editing, and that Weinstein has more often than not been calling the shots. This, if true, would be in keeping with Weinstein's reputation as "Harvey Scissorhands," a taskmaster with a tendency to recut the films he's acquired for distribution, sometimes (often, his critics say) against the wishes of the filmmakers.
Whatever the truth of it, a Miramax spokesperson insists that Horses "is Billy Bob's movie. He's editing this movie, not Miramax."
And Thornton, through his publicist Paul Bloch, sent the following statement over by fax: "I�ve worked very closely with my editor Sally Menke since day one of this project. Harvey and I are friends and partners. We�ve made many films together and he has always stood by me. We both felt that it was important to remain true to the artistic vision of the film while dealing with the length � and we have. Filmmaking is a collaborative process and we agree that this is our best one yet."
"It's really quite beautiful � it really is," says a publicist who's seen the film. "Billy filmed the book. It's got that long, sweeping thing � that epic quality. It comes down to 'Are you into that book, that Cormac McCarthy story?' But shooting films like this in a long, sprawling fashion is nothing unusual. Kevin Costner's first version of Dances with Wolves ran four hours."
But a Hollywood-based manager with ties to the project says that "obviously, with all the different cuts and different people putting their hands in over the last two years, it's in trouble."
Thornton is currently starring in the Barry Levinson film Bandits. Before this, he played the lead character in that black-and-white film noir from Joel and Ethan Coen known as The Barber Movie.
Set in the late 1940s, Horses is about a pair of Texas cowpokes (Damon, Henry Thomas) who ride into Mexico looking for work and adventure. Along the way they hook up with a young dude named Blevins (Lucas Black). After arriving at a large Mexican hacienda, Damon gets himself into trouble when he falls in love with the owner's daughter (Cruz).
Co-starring are Ruben Blades, X-Files star Robert Patrick, and Bruce Dern, the father of Thornton's ex-squeeze Laura Dern. Rumor has it that Bruce's screen time was reduced after Thornton left Laura for his current flame, Angelina Jolie. I was told earlier this year, actually, that the editing went more smoothly after Thornton decided to reduce Dern's part.
There was another article in the New York Times on Thursday about Project Greenlight (it is getting very good press). All positive, but nothing really new. Chris Moore does say that either himself, Ben or Matt will produce the film, depending on who is available at the time. The final 250 have just been named on the site. Ben also made his first appearance on the greenlight messageboards (on the site), and said he would be back (usual thoughtful, decent comments).
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Nancy: Well he's already won an Academy Award for writing and been nominated for another for acting. Now Matt Damon says he's doing his best work ever and for that he has the pretty praise for his latest director, Billy Bob Thornton. Tony Potts rolls out the "welcome Matt" for Damon. Shot of Matt walking along a New York street in a T-shirt, jeans and jacket, carrying a garment bag. He waives.
Matt in a familiar blue-grey short sleeved shirt, hair very short, looking a bit lean but not bad.
Matt (looking down): I think this is the best movie that I've ever been a part of.
Scene in what looks like a Mexican prison office:
Mexican Officer: You make bad trouble for yourself.
Intercut scene of Matt on the ground shooting.
Matt in the office pointing a gun at the officer: Mister, I've got trouble you never even heard of.
Matt: It was the first time I'd ever seen myself on the screen and not wanted to throw up.
Scene of Matt on horse waiving a hat and whooping.
Tony: Strong words from a guy who at the age of thirty already has an incredible body of work...
Montage of shots of Matt in Good Will Hunting, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Saving Private Ryan and The Legend of Bagger Vance. Then, over shots of Matt as John Grady Cole striding down a street, talking on the phone, kissing Penelope in the lake....
Tony: ...But Matt credits director Billy Bob Thornton with pushing the star to an all new level and it wasn't always pretty.
Matt: I got so mad at him one time I wanted to hit fight him. I didn't tell him that. A shot of Matt fighting in the film. Another close-up of him looking up.
Matt: You'd have no idea what he was going for, so he was outfoxing you half the time. Shot of Billy Bob and a shot of a smiling Matt in character.
Tony: The mischievous director and star then outfoxed visiting studio executives with a staged argument on the set. Scenes of Matt and Henry Thomas crossing a river on horseback, and a close-up of Matt laughing in the film.
Matt: He was just screaming at me, yelling at me going, "This ain't no damn Teen Beat movie! I'm not.. Don't you give me that!" and meanwhile, the executives from Sony, one of them turned to the other and said, "I knew we shouldn't have come today! I knew we shouldn't hav come today!"
Dimly lit scene of Matt in bed with Penelope.
Matt: I love you. I'm gonna love you 'till the day I die.
Penelope: I believe you.
Over that great scene of Matt's character seeing Penelope for the first time on horseback.
Tony: This mid-twentieth century epic is about a cowboy who falls for the wrong gal, breathtaking Spanish beauty Penelope Cruz. Cruz, who auditioned for eight months, finally captured the role by doing a screen test with Matt in Italy on the set of "The Talented Mr. Ripley" with Ripley director Anthony Minghella supervising.
Shots of Penelope posing for a camera shoot. Shot of Matt on the beach as Ripley. Shot of Minghella and his wife at a premiere.
Penelope: They just wanted to see, more, the chemistry of the couple.
Matt: Anthony Minghella said, "Dance" and we were like, "Dance?"
Penelope: We were like, dancing flamenco with Matt dressed like Mr. Ripley, and it was very funny.
Scene of Penelope and Matt dancing.
Penelope: My name is Alejandra.
Penelope: For me, he's one of the most generous partners I've found.
Matt: I hope people go see it and appreciate what she does in the movie because she's so good.
Scene of Matt putting Penelope on a horse.
Matt: You're going to get me in trouble.
Penelope: You are in trouble.
Shot of Matt and Penelope kissing.
Tony: Okay, here's a little bonus Access info for you. You'll never guess how Billy Bob kept his stars happy at the end of the day when they had some spare time. Bowling. That's right. Matt, Penelope and Billy bowling up a storm. As for "All the Pretty Horses," you can catch it when it opens December 25th. That would be Christmas Day."
Comments: Penelope's interview seems like an old one. Matt's could have been done when he was in New York last month. He looks about the same as he did there. I think these scenes all came from the trailer, but they're still great to see again. Interesting, though, that Matt said he wanted to fight Billy Bob!
Here's a late quote from Redford from Jam Showbiz:
He cast Matt Damon as the golfer and Will Smith as the mysterious stranger who helps him rediscover his game on and off the golf course.
"Matt and I talked a little about my early career because he is going through a similar phase now. I told him to have a real good grip on himself and I know he will."
Redford says Damon, 30, is far more focused on his career than Redford was at Damon's age.
E-mail: | matt_rap@hotmail.com |
URL: | http://mattdamon.cjb.net |
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