John Cole: Matt Damon	Lacey Rawlins: Henry Thomas
Jimmy Blevins: Lucas Black (II)	Don Hector Villarael: Ruben Blades
Alejandra: Penelope Cruz	Alphonsa: Miriam Colon
Banker: Sam Shepard	Judge: Bruce Dern
Director: Billy Bob Thornton

30 Second Bottom Line: Two young men who are best friends, love cattle ranching and wide open spaces, go to Mexico after they lose their jobs in Texas.

Story Line: John Cole's (Matt Damon) recently deceased father signed everything his wife put in front of him and did not accept the legal advice of his lawyer. His father's huge cattle ranch is sold and John feels disenfranchised. He decides to go south to Mexico with his best buddy Lacey Rawlins (Henry Thomas). Along the way, they meet a slick-talking teenager, Jimmy Blevins (Lucas Black II) who is clearly running from something. His horse looks just too good for a person so young and he shoots a pistol better than either John or Lacey.

They drift along going no place in particular; they will know the right place when they get there. While camping during a major thunderstorm, Blevin's horse, saddle and gun are stolen which they spot when they ride into the next town the following day. That night they recover the horse and in the attempt to escape a town posse, Blevins becomes the decoy that kicks up a trail of dust so that John and Lacey can take a slower route off the beaten path.

John and Lacey find work on a cattle ranch owned by the wealthy Don Hector Villarael (Ruben Blades). When they break 16 Mustangs in four days, they impress Don Hector and John gets a promotion to work on a project breeding quarter horses. While working about the ranch, John catches the eye of Alejandra (Penelope Cruz). They exchange meaningful glances and soon they are passionately in love. They are two people in heat.

While Don Hector invites John into his house to play billiards because he respects his work in the field, that does not necessarily translate to him approving of John courting his daughter. He is a wealthy man and John is only a cowhand. Alejandra's aunt, Alphonsa (Miriam Colon) is protective of her niece not because of her dislike of John, but because "A man can lose his honor and regain it while a woman cannot." A forbidden love always exacts a high price.

Tell Me More About It: Lurking in the background, of course, is a reunion of Blevins with John and Lacey, which occurs in a jail cell.

I was engaged with the story of All the Pretty Horses but I never got hooked like I did with Slingblade, Billy Bob Thornton's prior award winning directorial effort. I understand that in the book, John and Lacey are teenagers out to discover the world and learn life lessons. In the film, John and Lacey are close to thirty years old. Yeah, these guys are still learning, but they are far from virginal in many aspects of their lives. A forbidden first love is one you don't think you can live without if it's snatched away. While it was difficult for John and Alejandra to decide what to do, I had more of the feeling of "that's too bad" rather than "that's tragic."

The teenage Blevins is far more astute than John or Lacey until it's time for him to know when to leave well enough alone. He recovers his stolen horse on the first trip and decides he really needs to go back later and recover his pistol. This is a mistake…a very big mistake.

Question: Is the truth what happened or what was said? Answer: it may be in the eye of the beholder. The major events in this film are determined as much by reality as the perception of what is real.

Matt Damon: Finding Forrester	Henry Thomas: Fever
Lucas Black (II): Crazy in Alabama	Ruben Blades: Cradle Will Rock
Sam Shepard: The Pledge	Miriam Colon: Lone Star
Penelope Cruz: Woman on Top	Bruce Dern: The Haunting
Billy Bob Thornton: The Gift (writer)