What a disappointment this movie is, on so many levels. Even though the story line carries through from beginning to end, the transitions between scenes are so disjointed that we are never sure of just what is happening at any moment. As far as Luciana Pedraza, I'm sure that, as his wife, Duvall loves her very much. However this does not change the fact that she cannot act worth a damn, and forget what viewers have said about her flat and colorless performance being "in character." As far as Duvall himself, the glory days of Godfather, Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (his finest effort), True Confessions and so many others appear to be over. He seems to have become content settling into playing the same crotchety old redneck with the same mannerisms over and over, as in Get Low, Jayne Mansfield's Car, A Night in Old Mexico and The Judge (though the latter is rather a good flick). The story itself is clearly supposed to be a moving one about tragic self-awareness, but the emotionless execution left me very dry-eyed. There is some beautiful cinematography of the midwestern vistas, but that's not enough to redeem the movie. Don't waste your time.
Review of Wild Horses
