All the Pretty Horses comes with a fancy pedigree: a Cormac McCarthy novel about adolescent Texas cowboys, circa 1949, that deservedly won the National Book Award eight years ago. Director Billy Bob Thornton (Sling Blade) and screenwriter Ted Tally (The Silence of the Lambs) approach the material with respect, but only Barry Markowitz's luminous camerawork does justice to the descriptive majesty of McCarthy's prose. Although the actors work hard, the haunted soul of the book resists capture…

Based on the acclaimed Cormac McCarthy novel, Billy Bob Thornton's follow-up to "Sling Blade" canters out of the gate only to be rustled, broken and branded by Miramax honchos Bob and Harvey Weinstein.

Story

Yearning for adventure and a better life south of the border, Texas cowboys John Grady Cole (Matt Damon) and Lacey Rawlins (Henry Thomas) saddle up and find employment with Mr. Rocha, a wealthy Mexican hacienda owner (Ruben Blades). The two Americans quickly draw attention to themselves by…