Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – Chronicles a multi-faceted, 15-year span of pre-and post-Civil War expansion and settlement of the American west.

My Take – No one loves a western as much as Kevin Costner. Other than Clint Eastwood, Costner may very well be the most important western story teller and actor in decades. After all, he is the man who brought us Dances with Wolves (1990) and Open Range (2003), both equally ambitious and well-received.

After spending the last few years playing the gruff, tough family patriarch in the highly successful Paramount+ series, Yellowstone, Costner is once again back behind the camera and in front, riding the saddle, to give live to a passion project he’s had for years.

Co-written with his screenwriting partner Jon Baird, the first of four planned Western epics that states its intentions in its very title: a broad story involving many characters. Striking a good balance between action sequences and intimate character moments, here, director Costner has developed a film with the look, feel, familiarity, and harshness of Western colonization and has created an almost anthology of tales that should offer one or two plots to latch on to.

A noble attempt to provide a more balanced perspective on frontier life combined with gorgeous vistas and vignettes that remain really engaging in spite of the glacial pace. The fact that he is making this mammoth epic makes it all the more galvanizing. It helps that a fantastic cast enhances the grittiness of the film, providing solid performances that capitalize on the drama and bring that emotional distraught to the fullest effect possible.

But while it is nice to see a western on the big screen again, especially one that’s so unashamedly old fashioned and sentimental but the resulting film is a 181 minutes long first act that doesn’t even feel like it’s out of act one by the time the credits roll.

It’s fine for an epic to sprawl, but you want a sense of purpose at the same time, and this one sometimes loses its way making it feel very bloated. Mostly, as the stories needed a connection to move things along, needed interconnecting and a driving point. Perhaps, some more action scenes could have helped things further as well.

Nevertheless, the end ambushes us with a frenetic montage of what to expect from Chapter 2, teasing the drama, epic gunfights and chases from the next film in the cycle.

Beginning in 1859 in the San Pedro Valley, Arizona, and exploring Montana, Wyoming, and Kansas. It follows folks living in or aspiring to live in the fictional settlement of Horizon on the San Pedro River. A peaceful makeshift town of white Christian families, a settlement sold to its residents as a new promised land.

The settlement is located at an Apache People river crossing, which creates major issues between the settlers and the Apache, particularly with their ruthless fanatical young leader, Pionsenay (Owen Crow Shoe).

One such massive raid leads to the arrival of Union Calvary officer Trent Gephardt (Sam Worthington), who is keen to help every survivor, including Frances Kittredge (Sienna Miller) and her young teenage daughter, Elizabeth (Georgia MacPhail). One of whom is also a young boy named Russell (Etienne Kellici) who joins a group of bounty hunters determined to get their revenge on the Apache.

Elsewhere, in a frigid Montana mining town, scheming Sykes brothers, Caleb (Jamie Campbell Bower) and Junior (Jon Beavers), are on a mission to track down Ellen (Jena Malone), the mistress of their father James Sykes (Charles Halford), and retrieve their infant half-sibling.

Which puts them on course to clash with seasoned miner Hayes Ellison (Kevin Costner), who gets mixed up in the conflict due to a young sex worker, Marigold (Abbey Lee). Finally, a wagon train heads for Horizon, led by pioneer Matthew Van Weyden (Luke Wilson), contains myriad characters.

Of course with several character journeys occurring simultaneously initially it is difficult to follow. But with a story like this one, director Costner takes his time introducing their backstories when necessary to guide the plot along. Here, he has accomplished the goal of making a legitimate Western in feel, look, and presentation.

It’s a startling drama that pays great attention to the frontier traveling days of the past and captures the harsh and savage land nightmare it once was. His camera team picks amazing shots with editing and angles that maximize the adventurous moments, while also finding times to convey that horror and dismay at the harder plot elements.

The film’s impressive sense of scale and majesty is amplified by the swirling John Debney musical score. With the most standout scene being when the Apaches raid the Horizon settlement in the middle of the night. There’s a viciousness to the way director Costner shoots the town’s Native attackers, who indiscriminately slaughter white children.

Being three hours long, the pacing is quite spectacular even though it still requires an insurmountable amount of patience from viewers. But that’s what makes it all the more impressive. After long, violent sequences of pain and killing, unexpected heartfelt moments are right around the corner. And while this first chapter is very long, it turns out to be not quite long enough. The ending is strangely abrupt.

It’s as if someone has simply told director Costner that it’s time to stop, despite nothing having been resolved. The wagon train is still at the start of its journey. The burgeoning romance between Worthington’s lieutenant and Sienna Miller’s doughty but elegant frontierswoman hasn’t got beyond a first demure kiss.

Most of the other main characters have barely been introduced. It’s only natural to want to understand these characters on deeper levels to build a sense of connection to them. However, Costner’s Western epic does just enough to set up the intrigue while also leaving us with a feeling of wanting more.

Performance wise, Kevin Costner, who doesn’t show up until an hour into the film, offers a reminder that he’s a film star like no other with a roguish charm who feels so comfortable in this genre. There’s a strong supporting cast too who probably get more screen time than Costner himself.

Sam Worthington, Sienna Miller, Jena Malone and Abbey Lee are endearing. Jamie Campbell Bower are some of the best within the film. Luke Wilson displays a commanding yet kind presence. Owen Crow Shoe and Jon Beavers are generically evil in satisfying fashion.

In other roles, Angus Macfadyen, Danny Huston, Michael Rooker, Isabelle Fuhrman, Tatanka Means, Tom Payne, Ella Hunt, Douglas Smith, Michael Angarano, Colin Cunningham, Tim Guinee, Scott Haze, Wasé Chief, Alejando Edda, Jeff Fahey, and Will Patton are good. On the whole, ‘Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1‘ is a solid grand Western spectacle that is handsomely shot and well performed, but also suffers narrative wise.