Matt Damon plays John Grady Cole, who leaves the modern inconvenience of Texas for rustic cattle drives in Mexico. McCarthy's novel may be equally slack in terms of narrative structure, but it's embellished with swirling paragraphs, disguising and revealing. You can pick out segments of the film that try to emulate McCarthy's vibe, simply by how long Thornton lingers.
Words speak louder than non-action.
Fans of the book may be able to fill in the movie's gaps. John examines early, the last remnants of something formerly alive and meatier. It's just one more Hollywood decomposition of a good book. Sandra Bullock plays a tomboyish FBI agent working undercover at a beauty pageant to nab a terrorist. Benjamin Bratt plays her condescending partner and possible love interest.