Newcomers trying for old-style Hollywood feel, and failing

Author: moonspinner55 from las vegas, nv
15 February 2002

From Cormac McCarthy's novel about young man in 1949 Texas leaving the family ranch for a life in Mexico,and winding up in hot water.Despite mystical undermining(which presumably is what director co-producer Billy Bob Thornton brought to the table)film has a distracting 'formula' feel: two-parts western, one-part forbidden romance, and one-part prison picture.None of it gels,simply because the screenwriter(Ted Tally of all people)and Thornton are trying for the kind of heavy,romantic movie-western style popular 40 years ago, and yet they do not possess the subtle qualities to make this genre successful for them. Matt Damon frequently flashes his shy/self-conscious movie-star smile, but he's so clean and bland and laid-back, he's practically non-existent on the screen. Penelope Cruz, as his forbidden flame, is better, but the other performers are less charismatic, and the story has no center--it just rambles around.

*1/2 from ****