Saturday, 6 July 2024

Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1

Official Australian release date: 4/7/24. Viewed: 7/7/24.
Director: Kevin Costner        
Actors: Kevin Costner, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jon Beavers
Genre: Drama / Western
Rating: M

‘Horizon: Chapter 1’ is a Western in every sense of the word – set in early 1860s Arizona/Utah, as white settlers try to establish a new town called “Horizon” in Apache territory, while the Civil War is being fought back East. There’s a lot of characters and storylines started, but most centre around Horizon as the focal point of the frontier and it’s attached by Native Americans. Interestingly, we don’t meet Hayes (Costner) until almost halfway through, further north in Wyoming. He comes across Marigold (Lee) and a child who are being pursued by Sykes (Beavers), setting in motion their journey.

There’s about 4 main storylines: Hayes & Marigold on the run; Frances Kittredge (Miller) & daughter Elizabeth (MacPhail) and their interactions with Lieutenant Gephart (Worthington) and Sergent Riordan (Rooker) at the Fort; then Elias (Haze) & Russell (Kellici) who are out hunting the Apache that attacked Horizon. And finally there’s the new settlers heading West on their wagons, being led by Captain Van Weyden (Wilson). It’s not all perfectly linked yet, but you can start to see how most of it will connect.

The pacing is quite good, considering it’s 3 hours, with a few slow moments, but given the amount of characters and the 4 distinct threads, it does well to give enough info, but also spend enough time on the epic landscapes of Arizona and Utah, with plenty of beauty on show. The score is particularly impressive. While it may sound long, I’m liking the idea of 4 longs films instead of a 15-part TV series. Costner has set things up well – and while this isn’t a perfect film, with no fitting ending, I’m looking forward to the next chapters.

Overall: Nice platform for a Western epic

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars

 

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