All The Pretty Horses

Billy Bob Thornton has written (One False Move) and directed (Sling Blade) films that are savory potions of languid pacing and gnawing tension. This visually intoxicating rite-of-passage that he helms is no exception. Matt Damon and Henry Thomas star as cowboys in 1949 Texas, who venture south of the border in search of work. Their relationships with a young misfit (Lucas Black) and a land baron (Rueben Blades) and his daughter (Penelope Cruz) precipitate a harsh encounter with Mexican law enforcement. Thornton’s initial four-hour cut was whittled in half, resulting in a tale of loyalty, love, purity of spirit and death that is marred by an awkward, gapped-tooth last half-hour. Ted Tally (Silence of the Lambs) adapted the script from Cormac McCarthy’s acclaimed 1992 novel.