Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1

Its weekend and since Friday I have been watching a good amount of content and taking yesterday almost off when it comes to post long form content, actually to watch some movies and tv series. This time around I wanted to watch Kevin Costner's latest passion project, "Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1”. This movie has been in the works in Costner’s mind for almost four decades and that too is evident here, whether for the better or for the worse. It is now 2024 and all we have is the first part of the four part epic Western franchise. Sounds ambitious, it’s like Costner took every western cliche that he could imagine and mix it up, the results is a three hours cinematic blend of brilliance and irritation but of that will talk about latter, the movie is not bad but for many many will feel boring, that's how western movies are for the most time to be honest.

The film is located in the territory of the United States during Civil War, the main plot revolves around the story of the brave mother Frances Kittredge by Sienna Miller, who has to start her life again, having survived the attack of Apache. Another plot is about Hayes Ellison by Kevin Costner, a rather vague character of a former gun man who comes to the place and gets involved in the local disputes. It also shows a wagon train, commanded by Matthew Van Weyden by Luke Wilson, moving west and Native American tribes who are forced to fight for their land. The movies does show various aspects of frontier’s violence, settler’s aggression towards Native Americans, the realism of westward expansion, the relations between the US army and settlers and indigenous people, there is a ton to grasp from those times on this story. The film is about the survival, vengeful actions, love and the some what ethical issues of the Old West.

I went into this movie with pretty high hopes. I mean, it is Kevin Costner doing a Western, but as I mention it's somewhere in between. The plot or should I say plots?. It’s so complex we’re talking about multiple story lines bending and mixing up, we have settlers fighting against Apache Indians, a drifter caught in the conflict of a small town, a wagon train trekking through the territory and enough clan conflict to make the Hatfields and McCoys look like buddies.

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17505010//
Platform: Amazon

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In the center of it all is Horizon, a town that has been through more than its fair share of shootouts and saloons full of drunken cowboys demanding their pay. We’re discussing apache raids, army interference and all sorts of tragedy that would make you stand up in the middle and say “Hey guys, chill out a little”. There is also a little touch of a gang of scalp hunters for the sake of it. I'm going to share some information on the cast and the movie over all without trying to spoil although it has been release for quite some time now, the cast is like its own entity as you expected way more considering who are the actors but the pace kinda town the movie down a bit. This movie is full of stars, it seems like there are more stars in this movie than they actually put to use. We have Costner on board as Hayes Ellison, a protagonist who arrives at the party at the correct time, when the movie is half way through. Sienna Miller plays the role of Frances Kittredge, a rough and raw mother who has been through the mill. We see Sam Worthington as a Union Army lieutenant, which welcomes such esteemed members of the cast as Jena Malone, Danny Huston, and Michael Rooker.

The actors and actresses have exceptional records for the most part, all these actors are professional and they are doing what they can with what they have. The problem is that there are so many characters and plot lines that it is hard to feel that any of them really gets their due. It’s like seeing a group of race horses locked up in a starting block that will never fully spring open. Still, Costner seem to be reaching for more than he can actually grasp on this movie as he writes, directs, produces and acts and you can sense his drive in every scene, but when he’s on screen, he’s the epitome of what people expect of Costner, but he is also missing in action in large portions of the film, which is sort of strange given that he’s the star of the film, I find that curious when actors direct a movie where they are the star?!

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Source Sienna Miller stands out from the rest of the cast with her character experiences some rather brutal things and Miller portrays it with such vigor that you’d definitely notice. I remember there is one scene in which she is struggling after an attack and I guarantee you anyone who watch the movie was holding their breath. After some time of been release the movie has been a bit controversial and criticize, still very divided opinions at RottenTomatoes with a split rating, as it got a mere 50% by the critics with 155 reviews, on the other hand the audience gave it a 70% from +2500 votes. I would guess critics were expecting more from a technical point of view, after all its fkn Kevin Costner, its like Ford releasing a new pick up truck, if they failed they for sure going to get destroy by automobile critics.

What I’ve seen so far is that many people are hailing the movie for its scale and grandiosity, you have to clap for Costner for going all out here, trying to hit a home run, with a FOUR Chapter set of movies, Chapter 2 is schedule to be release on September 2024 after it was postpone, originally planed to be release on August. But as I mention I kept shaking my heads over the pacing and the quantity of plots and subplots involved, last year remember watching Billy The Kid TV series and it was quite exciting although a bit slow at times but they manage to keep a balance while on Horizon not so much and both are Western Theme productions although their story are not so much similar or the same. I'm kinda torn, on one hand I have to give props to Costner for the passion he put into this production. This is clearly a labor of love and you can sense his passion for the material in every single shot, a very cinematographic movie. It’s stunning to look at, there are scenes of the American West that will make you want to ride off and become a cowboy yourself, makes you imagine many things about those time, from what people use to do on their daily and how was life during those times, makes you feel is the entire purpose of a movie and this one does provoke feelings and thoughts.

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Source But on the other hand man this movie is confusing, it is as if Costner could not choose which story to tell, so he just chose to tell all of them. It has the unfortunate effect of making the movie seem bloated and yet lacking in substance simultaneously, a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle where half of the pieces are missing and the other half belong to a completely different puzzle yet you can still see the overall results but its the lack of pieces that bother you. In multiple parts movies the ending of the first one is crucial, you already know there is a sequel, for example in Dune. The ending of the first Dune was poor and made me wanting more but never mad, on this movie doesn’t so much end as just stops, made me mad. It’s as if Costner woke up one day and said, ‘Damn, I have to make a four part epic’ and rushed to save some stuff for the next part, instead of an ending, we are given this teaser which is more of a chapter two introduction than an ending.

In conclusion after I finish watching the movie, on one hand it is impossible not to appreciate Costner’s effort and his evident passion for making westerns. This is a guy who’s invested in his beliefs, literally risking his home to make this movie a reality as he took a loan against his property to make this first chapter a reality. He sold 10 acres of the beautiful land and water front in Santa Barbara, California which he bought in 2006 for $285 million with intention of building his last family home, this mortgage got him about $50 million for the film’s budget, and he has personally invested about $38 million of his money into the film. But on the other hand, I couldn’t help but think that this would have been a much better format for a TV series to be hones. If more time was spent on these characters and these plots, “Horizon” could have been something epic for a TV series with multiple seasons, a gorgeous visual mess, an epic try that tries to tell too much at once.

So, would I recommend it? if you are a fan of Western or a fan of Costner, then yes you should watch it. Still, there is enough here to keep you going, at least for the wrong reasons, most of the time. But if you are in search of a tense, well constructed movie experience, then you might need to ride on down to another western theme movie. In the end, I'd give "Horizon: I gave “An American Saga – Chapter 1” a 7 out of 10, as I mention its not bad but I like the movie but I know its flaws. It’s not the masterpiece that Costner was clearly striving for but it is a good attempt and for all its shortcomings is rather compelling.

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