Release Date – 28th June 2024, Cert – 15, Run-time – 3 hours 1 minute, Director – Kevin Costner
Chronicling the stories of a variety of settlers heading towards a yet-to-be-built settlement, while those nearer face the already-residing Apaches, those with some distance left find themselves caught up in deadly local tyranny.
It’s somewhat difficult to summarise Chapter 1 of Kevin Costner’s self-funded passion project, Horizon due to the fact that it is just one chapter. Half, or perhaps even a quarter of a film (chapter 2 is scheduled for release in August while 3 and 4 are currently in back-to-back production). There’s no major cliffhanger to end on, just a selection of rapidly cut shots from what’s still to come. Packing another near-three hours of story into just a couple of minutes it highlights further the truly slow-burn nature of what has preceded it and promising that things will come together eventually.
Costner certainly takes his time with his return to directing, for the first time in 20+ years, and the western genre. Horizon Chapter 1 is a film that is setting up its pieces, ready to knock down the dominoes at another time. Looking at the expansion of the American western frontier, we follow various groups of settlers as they head towards ready-to-be-built-on land for a future settlement known as Horizon. The journeys we see are very much still in their first act. There’s not quite enough here yet for a TV series, but with how much jumping around we do between three stories, despite feeling like more due to all the characters who play a role throughout, bordering on too much for one film.
Costner takes on the role which the marketing has focused on, horse trader Hayes Ellison. Yet, proving this is far from a vanity project Ellison has very little screen-time, and doesn’t appear until at least an hour in. His strand may be the most compelling and direct, as he falls in, and must quickly escape a stop, with sex worker Marigold (Abbey Lee) after a deadly encounter with local tyrants trying to fix a land deal in their favour. It’s a simpler set of events compared to what else we see, bringing out the tension and drama more effectively during quieter moments of escalating conversational confrontation.
The landscapes and tension during these brief sequences are at their best. Truly capturing the endless landscapes and horizons that surround the characters in each location. There’s some very effective cinematography on display which seems to aim for a natural look, sometimes backfiring in difficult-to-see shots at night or when playing with shadows. ‘Sprawling’ seems to be the word Costner is aiming for, and while that’s the case for the landscapes and indeed the narrative a bit more unity needs to be felt so things don’t feel more like an anthology film over something that’s eventually going to come together.
Costner (alongside co-writer Jon Baird) has made the decision to delve into the characters, their views and interactions with the laws and workings of the west, whilst the Civil War continues in the east. Whether this be through their own personal tragedies – an extended early sequence sees Sienna Miller’s Frances Kittredge become widowed after a brutal Apache attack, left only with daughter Elizabeth (Georgia MacPhail) – or a welcome Luke Wilson trying to keep order in his divided wagon trail. Various figures crop up throughout these arcs with their own personal strands and journeys to get across the idea that this isn’t as much about the characters but a focus on these part of America at this particular time in the 1860s, this film seemingly taking place over just a couple of days.
Yet, while the three-hour run-time is certainly felt there’s no denying that there still lies an interest in the proceedings and the way they pan out. Perhaps this comes from knowing that there’s more to come, or just how much Costner has put into telling this story the way he wants to tell and show it. While chapter 2 will likely be the better taste of what Horizon is, and will be like, this first instalment makes for a set up that has enough interest to keep you in place for the slow-burn run-time, even if you do feel the three hours.
The simpler moments of Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 work best while we wait for the narrative arcs to come together. There’s a lot of characters to keep track of amongst the vast plains and while not all click this is very much a lengthy first act which is establishing the rules of its landscape. Held together by an interest in the settlement end-goal and Costner’s lack of vanity.
Just A Little Bit Random 