User reviews

What attracted me to this film was the name Robert Duvall , who is almost certainly America's greatest living character actor . Add to that he also directed WILD HORSES so this looked like a film worth going out of my way to see and while not being a complete waste of time I expected better

In reply to my fellow IMDb peer Arfdawg I agree the actress playing the lead Texas Ranger is rather dreadful . The actress birth name was Luciana Pedraza and is now known as Luciana Duvall . I guess that answers a few questions doesn't it ? Despite having a few other well known names in the shape of Franco and Hartnett most of the story is told via Pedraza/Duvall's female Ranger and she's just not a good enough actress to carry the film and gives a very wooden and stilted performance which becomes annoying . On top of that the film moves at a very slow pace which made me think the director was copying wholesale the Coens' style from NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN . Unlike that film WILD HORSES is far from compelling and feels like two separate stories , one featuring a crime drama and one featuring a angst ridden family drama stuck together in a rather unsatisfying manner and means we're left with an unsatisfying film

This is a film done by a man who has been in film business longer than a lot of us have been alive. His style is old school and you have to pay close attention to the storyline and smaller details because they reveal a lot about it toward the end. Also, it's a modern western and you have to go into this film with an appreciation for the western genre. Without a doubt, Duvall, and Franco carried the film along with Hartnett, but I think it would've been beneficial to see more of him. There were a few continuity issues and plot holes but every film has those issues. Granted, I'm a huge fan of both Duvall and Franco so I enjoyed watching the film. It's definitely a story you have to watch with an open mind.

Having watched nearly all of this last night i felt i should air my opinion lol for what its worth, Having Franco,duvall,hartnett splashed all over the movie cover i though wow thats a great bunch of actors! But there was something so rotten that it killed off the quality that those actors brought to the film....Luciana Pedraza... Oh dear shes terrible. totally ruined the film her slow speech and her wooden acting killed this film for me. also the kid that played her son looked so uncomfortable it was making me cringe. just watch the first scene at the BBQ lol so bad. The fight scene outside the bar was a farce. Sorry but what a stinker.

Bad directing. The first thing you notice is too much time between actors giving their lines to each other. I hate that. Duvall's wife can't act. English isn't her first language and may have a small part to do with that, but she rubbed me the wrong way right off the bat. Did not buy her as a ranger and her delivery was too slow as well. Duvall himself made me anxious because of his breathing. He seemed to be straining for each breath, yet lights up a cigarette, cause that's what cowboys do! Did he also allow himself some ad libbing here and there? Scenes were choppy. Fade to black then start up again without any smoothness whatsoever. James Franco is a great actor and besides Harnett was the only one worth watching. I kept wanting to give up so many times watching this but stuck with it.

This film tells the story of a Texas ranger who opens up a case of a teenage boy who went missing fifteen years ago. This opens up the wounds in a ranch, where the head of the family disowns his gay son.

I did not quite expect "Wild Horses" to be so emotional and touching. On the surface it is about the disappearance of Jimmy Davis, but the other subplot of Mr Briggs and the relationship with his children steals the site. It is almost inconceivable that he would treat two of his children in such a manner. The story also seeks redemption and forgiveness, which makes it even more powerful. It's an unexpected surprise, especially because it's not getting much love from the internet users. I wish more people would appreciate how beautiful this film is.

Not much to be said about this film, though concerning the lives of a Texas Ranger involving ranches and features horses. One would know what this film is about from the trailers and overall tones. The film is a slow paced drama which are good at times but the directing, writing and acting aren't too great. The best scenes involve those with Robert Duvall and James Franco together, while the worst (and a lot of screen time) involves the Ranger character of Sam.

The acting here was clear she wasn't much of an actress with her tone and delivery (Her accent was noticeable). She was miscast and her scenes dragged the film down. Also poor acting from the Hispanic mother asking about her son, and a few of the thugs. The climax and overall 'reveal' of the film was very weak, as it just so happens and was dumb. The little subplots with the Maria character didn't really lead anywhere. Also with Josh Harnett's character and his wife, nothing amounted. As he wasn't used as much in the film as we thought we would be. The bright spots as mentioned were the performances of Duvall and Franco, and some nice scenes of the scenery. Wild Horses is a forgettable slow drama.

"Don't ever forget the obvious. Those clues will lead you to where you need to be." Scott Briggs (Duvall) is a rancher who comes home and finds something he doesn't like. His emotions get the better of him and something terrible happens. 15 years later an investigator shows up and begins to ask questions about his past. Now Scott is forced to try and hide the truth from everyone while trying to help his family. First and foremost this is a good movie. That said Duvall is starting to fall into the legend trap. By that I mean he is really doing a characteture of himself in every movie lately. He is still great but the person he plays in Night in Old Mexico and this one is pretty much the same person. That is not a bad thing, but it also takes away from the personalization of the movie. Also much like Night in Old Mexico this is not a western even though the cover seems like it is. All that said, the movie is very good and if you liked Night in Old Mexico you will like this as well. Overall, an enjoyable movie to watch, but Duvall really seems to be phoning in every one of his performances lately. I give this a B.

You've seen Duvall's same character over and over. The director was bad, but the acting was just as bad, and plot nonexistent. Don't waste your time.

Those seeking for a detective movie might be disappointed. Wild Horses is first and foremost a family drama, while the investigation part takes secondary priority. It provides solid emotional scenes, mainly thanks to the veteran cast and the personal premise, although the pace is unfortunately slow. It may not appeal to anyone since it will take nearly an hour before the momentum actually builds up, furthermore the crime element is considerably weak.

Story follows the sheriff from small desert town who opens a cold case concerning a missing boy. It happened fifteen years ago, so understandably it rattles some people, especially the Briggs family. It becomes clear early on that Luciana Pedraza as the sheriff is not in the same league as the rest of the cast, which is unfortunate since her perspective, while not in the same volume of the family's, is still crucial to the plot.

Additionally, there is very thin material for the crime aspect, it could have been skimped to minor subplot, yet the movie invests quite a lot on the police angle. The rest of the time is focused on dialogues in the Briggs family. The Briggs are very rich family and very patriarchy, they also harbors a lot of secrets. Duvall plays as Scott, the head of the family and he delivers a very convincing performance. He keeps the interest of his family first, although this might collide with the tragedy of the past.

Josh Hartnett has added depth on his character. He looks straightforward or rigid, but can also be passionately aggressive. The youngest son Ben is played by James Franco and he might be hust the nicest and honest amongst all. Between the three of them the acting is highly presentable, but since the screenplay consists of slow pace conversations, it can be tedious at times.

It has the good intention on delivering very private issue by the perspective of an entire family. However, the inconsistent delivery and tired pacing might not be refined enough to deliver the intended message.

i really enjoyed this film. it tells a few stories about an old mans life and mistakes. i really enjoyed the way it was filmed and the dialogue . no stupid noise noise ,no childish explosions,just a great film with a story. it made a refreshing change. a great film,for mature and patient people.it seems to have been given bad reviews in some places,maybe thats due to the times we live in,when style over content is king. most don,t seem to have the will to sit and watch a good story unfold. yes this tale may have told before,but not with such grace.nothing is new in film any more,but for me this claims some dignity back to film makers. mr.duval has done a fine job. good acting all round.

The first part of the film was a little erratic, jumping abruptly from one situation to another. Not sure if that was intentional or if editing created continuity issues.

Also in the beginning some of the minor actors seemed to be quite literally reading their lines from a teleprompter that wasn't keeping up.

If you stuck with it, things did improve. Duvall both starred in the film and wrote it. He was, as always, excellent and I'm impressed that he (apparently?) came up with the story idea. Possibly he personally had some past demons he wished to put to rest.

It deals with a Texas rancher coming to terms with changing times, a need to address past wrongs and an attempt to reconstitute a family that his attitudes and behavior had torn apart. His efforts are not entirely successful in many ways and yet may have been the catalyst for some painful healing nonetheless.

James Franco was quite good. His acting is so much better when Seth Rogan is not involved. Maybe a hint of James Dean dealing with father-son alienation but with more understated drama. Josh Hartnett was also excellent.

It is not really a feel-good sort of movie, but there is a comforting sense that some things are changing for the better no matter how painful the process.

I haven't seen any of the other films Robert Duvall has written or directed. There aren't many of them and there's possibly a very good reason for this. The man is a very fine actor, no one could deny that, but perhaps writing and directing are simply not for him if 'Wild Horses' is anything to go by. The script in particular is an absolute mess. The dialogue often feels like it's been written for a 5 year-old and by a 5 year-old. The story is told in incredibly clunky fashion and none of the intended 'heavy' scenes have any effect whatsoever on the audience.

The directing is not much better. The actors all look completely lost in every scene. There's some very strange casting with the likes of Josh Hartnett and James Franco, but the strangest of all was Luciana Pedraza. She was so unbelievably bad in her performance I had to look up her IMDb profile just to see who exactly the hell she was - only to find she was in fact Duvall's sister-in-law, sigh! I can't imagine any other filmmaker being willing to cast her and yet I notice Duvall also cast her in his 2002 film 'Assasination Tango'. Perhaps he just makes a film every ten years or so with a role written specifically for her so she can pay some bills. Who knows, but it's really not a good look. An awful performance in an awful film. Nothing to see here.

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.

This movie is unfortunately a turkey and or a lemon. Everything about it is just plain horrible: the acting, the story line, the script and above all: the directing. The director Robert Duvall must have totally lost any objectivity and clear thinking he could have shown in the making of this film.

Well at least the Razzie Awards will most likely have a field day on which categories this stinker could be up for. How 'bout going for a grand slam? New Razzie world record perhaps?

In the end this is all just too bad and a great big shame when they could have made a watchable and enjoyable film with money that was thrown away in the making of this horrible flick.

I'm glad that I scrolled down far enough to read Tony Heck's review. Was expecting something laughable, judging by the majority of comments but I knew that wouldn't be the case with a legend in the driving seat. Many harsh comments about his wife's acting. She was very natural/believable. I really enjoyed this film. A very decent story about a proud man of his time finally coming to terms with himself. And doing the 'right thing' (albeit at the end. I hope that that Mr. Duvall can churn out a few more films like this. He's in great shape for a man of his age and I doubt that he'd require any mounting aide in real life. Lovely touch with the cell phone in the opening scene and some wonderful shots of Texas. Must put it on my bucket list of places to see. Slainte

I am not saying this movie was the best movie I've seen, but I AM saying it sure wasn't the worst. The 1,2,3-star ratings are from weirdos, it's not the worst movie ever made. I am not at all a drama lover, I don't watch many of them at all. I also don't like watching movies with more than 3 great actors in it, because it's always them trying to outact each other, but this one wasn't so bad, they didn't share the screentime alot, so it worked out. I have been on a western lately, so I watched this because of Josh Hartnet and James Franco. Yes, Mrs. Duval was not the best actress she definitely needs work on her acting skills, but the rest of the strong actors help even it out. Someone said the Spanish (Jimmy) mother was horrible, I disagree. I don't think she did a bad job at all. So, if you like Dramas, which that is exactly what this is, then this movie is not a bad movie at all. To rate it under a 4, is just weird and ignorant, troll like.1 is the worst movie ever made in your opinion, 10 is the greatest, so I mean come on, let's be real here, this movie isn't ether one. That is why IMBD is not trusted by many people, because of the trolls or actors giving it unrealistic ratings.

**************Not a spoiler so I didn't put spoiler, but does talk about the movie so read at your own risk********************************

I feel that the whole drama of Jimmy's death was a little "extra" because in reality, who would do that if they didn't actually do it, or contemplate suicide after for that matter, but hey it's a movie right?

The only thing about this movie that's decent is the plot ... which could have been a great movie. The rest of it is disjointed and just plain awful. Even Robert Duvall's performance is sub-par. Everyone's acting is stiff and forced ... like they were still blocking it out and not ready. There is no flow in the delivery of the lines or in the movement of the script from one scene to the next ... even the story jumps and is confusing at times ... like it's several movies spliced together. Some of the "main characters" are move like live props ... adding little or no meaning to the plot ... they could have easily been eliminated. It's almost like this was a cast made up of friends and family who wanted "15 minutes of fame". I almost never write reviews, but this was just plain BAD.

I'm giving it a little higher rating than it may deserve because I can't believe the rating it currently has. This movie is very well done, good acting, and Robert Duvall is boulder among rocks. If you want to watch the same formulaic films over and over, this is not for you. I like a variety of films and this one delivers a nice drama, with good acting, almost like reading a book. A couple of the actors have English as a second language and I found that interesting and authentic. Anyway, it is a helluva lot better than a 5+. Now I have to write additional text to submit this review. I am perplexed by this obligation. I guess I'll have to add content that is not really relevant to this film. I recommend you check out all of Duvall's films, starting with The Great Santini. Okay, sorry for the last paragraph but this is my first review and, again, I don't see the relevancy of needing to submit a minimum of 10 lines.

Maybe I'm simple minded, but I enjoyed watching the movie. No it wasn't an "A" movie and never expected it to be. As for Robert Duval what can said that hasn't been said. Maybe, many of the critic don't like him, but he is one of the great actors of our time. Lots of things could have been put into the movie, sex, passionate love, shoot outs, more car chases, conflict, but no the movie had snippets of a man who has gotten his own way all his life with as little attachment as possible. The rules are his and he rules the roost. All the while his inner emotions longed control now must come out as his end in life nears. The weak side of the movie is the beginning and the why of it. Another weakness is character development. All in all, I enjoyed it, but cannot say it is a favorite.

Interesting idea for a story, great cast, but.......disjointed script.....and worse......Robert Duvall's wife as a Texas Ranger.....

She killed the movie as soon as she walked on scene.....then she proceeded to beat the poor film until it died of exhaustion and sadness....

I suppose that nepotism rules here.

Waste of an otherwise great cast, good cinematography, and production quality.

I wanted to like this film, but simply could not......and I hope that Duvall's beautiful wife stays in his life, BUT NOT ON SCREEN!!!!!