Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 Review

Kevin Costner has had a tumultuous and fascinating career over the decades, his sprawling ambition and inability to ever demonstrate his vision has made him the face of both legendary successes (Best Picture winning Dances with Wolves) and legendary flops (Waterworld, The Postman). In a career marked by big swings, Horizon: An American Saga is the biggest of them all. A planned four-part western epic, partially self-funded by Costner and made outside of the studio system. For now, only the first two films are shot, with Chapter 2 debuting later this year on August 18. The release strategy and overall scope of this epic endeavour needs to be taken into account when assessing this film since Chapter 1 plays less so like the first entry of a series, and more so just the first ¼ of one longer story. Part One’s have become a mini trend in Hollywood lately, and Horizon certainly falls into that mold where it’s ‘all set up, no payoff’ narrative. Although Horizon is significantly more unwieldy in that regard, Chapter 2 being a month and a half away softens the blow and it would be foolish to pretend as the first chapter’s various disparate plotlines won’t pay off in future installments.

Horizon aims to tell the story of the American Frontier in the 1800s, to capture that initial spark of the ‘American Dream’ that made thousands of immigrants embark on perilous journeys cross land and sea for a chance at making their own destiny. The plan being to cover every angle in this struggle towards westward expansion, the trials and tribulations across various territories and factions. Mysterious flyers have made their way across the frontier, advertising the town of Horizon, promising bountiful farmland and property to own. However, when people from all over arrive to this location, there’s no town, no people and it’s in the middle of Apache territory. The film opens on a thrilling and shockingly violent Apache raid on the budding town of Horizon, leaving many families orphaned and torn apart. This attack serves as the catalyst for a number of major plotlines. The first saw Frances Kittredge (Miller), a surviving widow, and her daughter dealing with their grief from the attack and finding a new home on a Union army base, as the seeds of romance beginning to form between Miller and Lieutenant Trent Gephart (Worthington). Also, another survivor, a teenaged boy, joins a gang of Indigenous scalp hunters in his quest for revenge.

On the flip side, audiences get a brief view into the Apache tribe and the divide growing between their chief, believing violence will only beget more violence, and his son (who led the raid), believing the only course of action is to fully drive out every settler. The Indigenous POV gets significantly less screen time compared to the settler perspective in Chapter 1, but the seeds are certainly laid here for future films to fully explore their side and the horrors inflicted upon them during this time in history. While the film certainly evokes the grandeur and sweeping romanticism of classic westerns, it does not shy away from the harsh reality of the violence and living conditions of the time, even if right now, that depiction is more one sided. Despite taking a more wait and see approach, based on the set up and other aspects of this film, it’s clear that Costner is not going for a black hat/white hat “cowboys & Indians” type western, instead blending aspects of both traditional and revisionist westerns which seek to demystify some of the more problematic legacies of the genre.

Costner has always been a fairly patient filmmaker, and that trait is no clearer than it is here, his character, Hayes Ellison, doesn’t show up until well into the film, once the above plotlines have been established. Ellison, a cowboy who gets caught in the middle of a larger feud after protecting Marigold (Abbey Lee), a prostitute, and her baby from bounty hunters about to kill her. Leaving him on the run with her in tow to uncover the full mystery of what is going on. The film’s third major plot line (introduced nearly two hours in) follows a wagon trail of immigrants making their way across the treacherous desert, led by an excellent Luke Wilson as Matthew Van Weyden, the put upon, weary leader of the group, all while the threat of Indigenous scouts and drama within the wagon trail crew brewed in the background.

In terms of other subplots (for which there are too many to mention here) and per the Chapter Two sizzle reel at the end of this film, there are even more characters on the way. It is frankly, beyond overwhelming just how sprawling the ambition and scale Costner is attempting through this saga. As fractured as all of these various unconnected plot threads are so far, the film moves along at a good pace, always throwing striking images and new story beats over its three hour runtime. Considering the sheer scope and number of subplots being juggled, the structure is surprisingly coherent considering, even if at times it was not always the easiest to follow. While this entry alone is not enough to fully connect to every character since there hasn’t been enough time to develop each storyline past laying their foundation, its performances (boasting a cast stacked with great character actors) imbue each role with a lot of personality and heart.

Though Chapter 1 doesn’t see any of these plotlines through to their end, let alone converge with one another, its world is deeply intrigued as is the set up for what is on the horizon. Kevin Costner’s passion for this project and the western genre bleeds through in every frame, essentially combining every western trope, trait, and setting into one ultimate compilation story. As a lifelong fan of the genre, this was a great time. In and of itself, the film is a treat, if only to just bask in the images, scenery, and atmosphere of an epic western, with John Debney’s sweeping score and Costner’s patient, steady hand behind the camera allowing those western vibes to really take hold. With the western being a genre rarely seen on the big screen these days, let alone on this scale, it makes this film that much more satisfying.

In the end, Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 will be impossible to fully assess without knowledge of where this story goes, but as it stands, it is as strong as a Part One can be, doing its job and generating more than enough excitement for Chapter 2.

still courtesy of Warner Bros.

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Alex Josevski

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