Hey folks Harry here with a report on the latest test screening of ALL THE PRETTY HORSES that Billy Bob and crew did. The first couple of screenings took place here in Austin, and yes I had people there. BUT FOR SOME REASON THAT I AM UNSURE OF... Robogeek, Johnny Wad and Line Lady all didn't send in their take on it. Sigh. So... it was up to folks out in California where they... 'GET THE JOB DONE' to do it. Line Lady has told me that the movie was an astonishing film, while both Johnny and Robogeek felt that it was too long and ponderous... of course those were VERY VERY ADVANCE LOOKS AT THE FILM, and hopefully it's been improving. I have great expectations for the film. It has an amazing pedigree to it. Here we go...
A transitory film from the great Billy Bob Thorton leaving me thinking, "I can't wait to see what he does NEXT."
I blame the script. It's based on one of those Western novels so maybe it's the form or maybe it's the adaptation, but the group seemed to agree that at its length right now it plays toooo long. Now I like long movies. Films that can take me away are fantastic finds. But there just wasn't enough story here. It played like a parable, but it ran like an epic. Every time it made a point it felt like an ending.
Microview, it showed wonderful storytelling. Mr. Thorton got compelling performances out of his male cast. The three leads were wonderful, Matt Damon said paragraphs in his reaction shots. His relationship with Henry Thomas was excellent when they were on screen together (which wasn't long enough). But the real gems were the supporting parts of Robert Patrick, whoever played the Mexican police officer and the Texas judge (played by the guy from Diggs Town). There was talk of taking the judge out which would be a shame as it was a very important part and it was a joy to watch the actor (I really wish I knew his name, Harry) play off of Matt.
Me? The whole story could have ended at ninety minutes with a very satisfying ending. But it kept going... If they can get it down to closer to 2 hours, it would be a better film. With the exception of Magnolia, less is more. Less is more.
Keep up the good work, Harry!
Shoehorned
