Epic, multi-faceted frontier western Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 has Kevin Costner standing his ground during this high-noon of cinema uncertainty, confidently and boldly delivering a movie experience that demands investment and patience.
The first of a three-part western epic, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 must be viewed as the entrée before the main meal, and as such it is a tasty morsel of classic western conversations prepared and served by a master.
Kevin Costner, of course, has laid all his chips on the table before, sometimes winning the big hand (Dances with Wolves) and other times going bust (The Postman). In todays over stimulated and impatient times, however, the odds are stacked against Costner that audiences will be willing to invest their time into his passion project. Yet like the grizzled veteran filmmaker that he is, Costner is standing his ground, with Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 a bold, engrossing, and richly layered first-act western.
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 is set during the mid-1860s in the picturesque San Pedro Valey, Arizona, where settlers come in droves to state their claim and plant roots in the new frontier town of Horizon, only for the indigenous Western Apache to make their feelings known with a murderous raid.
Two survivors of the Horizon massacre – Frances Kittredge (Sienna Miller) and her daughter Elizabeth (Georgia MacPhail) – try to start a new life in the neighbouring Camp Gallant under the watchful eye of First Lieutenant Trent Gephardt (Sam Worthington). Unbeknownst to them a wagon train of settlers led by Matthew Van Weyden (Luke Wilson) are making their way to Horizon, not aware of the danger that awaits them. Meanwhile, a horse trader named Hayes Ellison (Kevin Costner) finds himself on the run from a vindictive family of killers when he shoots one of their kin while defending a prostitute named Marigold (Abbey Lee.)
Not every story in Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 is made equal, with the best that starring Costner as a principle driven cowboy who finds himself way over his head. Yet the combination of these varied storylines creates an intriguing and unconventional whole. Costner has never been one to play it safe as a storyteller, and Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 will keep viewers on their toes as Costner and editor Miklos Wright (Mr. Brooks) takes us from one storyline to the next in a criss-crossing structure that reminds of the complicated dynamics at play during frontier times.
Excellent cinematography by J. Michael Muro (Traitor) captures the films’ numerous landscapes – from the desert’s paths of Santa Fe to the snow driven hills of Wyoming – that reminds of the God created beauty of the United States, often marred by the violence of humans who inhabit it as exemplified by numerous gunfights and scenes of savagery. So too are there moments of goodness, as seen in the budding romance between Miller’s widow and Worthington’s upstanding soldier.
At over three hours Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 will leave those hoping for resolutions feeling rather prickly about the lack of them. Yet that is exactly the point: Costner is setting up the stakes dramatic and emotional which will no doubt pay-off in subsequent chapters. Some might call it a cop-out; it instead should be seen as a refreshing change of pace in a world where entertainment content is consumed like fast-food. Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 is a much more nutritious and filling form of filmmaking to feast on.
