Billy Bob Thornton
Passione Ribelle

The literary charm of Cormac McCarthy was brought to the big screen even before the Coen brothers and John Hillcoat, by the famous actor Billy Bob Thornton, here dealing with his third directorial work.

All the Pretty Horses, is the cinematic adaptation of the novel "All the Pretty Horses" by Cormac McCarthy, the first book of the "Border Trilogy." The story tells the epic journey through the United States and Mexico of John (Matt Damon) and Lacey (Henry Thomas), eager to find a job that ensures their survival, bound by a strong friendship. Along the way, they meet young Jimmy (Lucas Black), a boy with a turbulent past, and whose presence is tied to many of the adventures the two will be forced to experience firsthand. Another figure of absolute centrality is Luisa (Penélope Cruz), a woman who, along with young Jimmy, causes turmoil in the lives of the two protagonists, particularly John.

From a book like "All the Pretty Horses," from the narrative genius of Cormac McCarthy, one might have expected a frankly better cinematic outcome. Instead, All the Pretty Horses "falls" precisely on those points that could have guaranteed a great success. Thornton lingers excessively with sentimentality. Right from the start, we have an emphasis on John's soul, a character afflicted by the death of his grandfather. Thus, the film becomes a drama all too predictable, and the love story between John and Luisa only guides us towards this "romantic" and nostalgic path that contributes little to the film, but rather results in a story all too seen and revisited.

Without a shadow of a doubt, although there are some negative choices like the fragmentation of the film into various subplots that fragment the main story, in capturing the atmosphere of reciprocity between the two friends John and Lacey and in showing us the various difficulties they will face, Billy Bob Thornton has certainly done the greatest job and the one that he handled best. In the central part, where they end up in prison, Thornton describes with absolute precision the protagonists' difficulties and their affliction in front of events they could not believe possible...
The problems related to the main characters show us men at the mercy of their destiny: everything they will face is due to other individuals, especially Luisa and Jimmy, so John and Lacey find themselves "called from outside" into situations that will see them as major interpreters.

However, what emerges is a sense of "return" that crashes against the harshness of love and immerses itself in the totality of friendship. After countless complicated situations, after miles and miles of journey, it is once again the strong feeling of friendship that triumphs over everything.