A slavish, rushed rendering of the Cormac McCarthy novel about two
Texan drifters seeking work, and finding trouble, in 1940s Mexico.
Thornton has crammed a lot into this reluctant cut, but McCarthy’s
long, gnarled periods contain more than just plot, and golden shots of
the desert terrain can't even approach their flavour. When Damon says
something spare and poetic, you know you’re hearing the original
dialogue, but it seems stranded and trite without the gravelly voice of
its author on either side. Thornton's one triumph is the stunning
casting of Sling Blade's Lucas Black as the 13-year-old cowboy
Blevins, whose juvenile pride sets him on an unstoppable collision
course with the world around him.
