‘Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter One’ Review — A Slogfest With Spurs

First, let’s get straight to the point: Kevin Costner’s latest headfirst dive back into the Western genre is a television show, period. Something has been racking my brain about how a studio like Warner Brothers, which tends to lock up and throw away the key (Batgirl, Looney Tunes), would go ahead and greenlight four—you read that right—four, three-hour Westerns with no hope of making their money back.

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter One is the cinematic equivalent of committing career suicide.

Watching the Kevin Costner slogfest with spurs, one can see that the filmmakers introduce a new character or an ‘exciting’ event every 35 to 45 minutes to keep the audience engaged in Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter One. The movie is divided into little tidbits suitable for streaming television. The film drags when Costner is off-screen; none of the plot lines connect, and there is no third act, leading to no payoff for the audience.

The story follows an eclectic bunch of characters all trying to make their way to God’s country, Horizon, where working-class immigrants can make their way across the rough terrain of the United States for their piece of the American dream. The film’s best sequence shows a family waking up to find the Indigenous population attacking their settlement, having taken over their land without permission.

Frances Kittredge (Sienna Miller) and her young daughter, Elizabeth (Georgia MacPhail), hide in a crawl space while her husband (Inveting Anna’s Tim Guinee) and son (Hayes Costner) perish. After the damage is done, the Army arrives (led by Sam Worthington) to rescue them. The Army is unaware of these settlements, as Pickering (Giovanni Ribisi) sells plots of land that are not his to give, deceiving them with false promises.

Then there is Hayes Ellison (Costner), who stops in a mining camp for rest and relaxation. One of the community’s soiled doves, Marigold (Mad Max: Fury Road’s Abbey Lee), targets Hayes.  You can’t knock Marigold’s work ethic; as she tries to bring back men like Hayes, she also babysits for Ellen (Jena Malone). On his way to her home, Hayes runs into Caleb Sykes (Stranger Things’ Jamie Campbell) and gets more than he bargains for.

Costner wrote the script for Horizon: An American Saga—Chapter One with Jon Baird (National Parks), with a story credit going to Costner’s former Silverado collaborator Mark Kasdan. The script is a highly romanticized version of the Western genre. The result, the film lacks visceral grit, with some of the cheesiest dialogue. It also features puzzling choices.

For example, some Indigenous characters speak English in small parts to each other out of context. This is confusing since Costner insisted that the Indigenous characters in Dances with Wolves speak only their native tongue. If you look at some Westerns that have come out in the past few years, whether on television or film, they exhibit an enormous amount of resolve.

The writer, director, and star have openly spoken about the dangerous mission of expanding the American West. That’s mainly because they didn’t realize the dangers awaiting them. Costner’s reverence for this period in American history is seen through rose-colored glasses. The story lacks an unforgiving edge and storytelling complexity.

Horizon: An American Sage – Chapter One is not without its charms, however. My main complaint is it feels incomplete. However, depending on chapter two, the film could come across with more cohesion when both pieces are put together. While some of the scenes are entertaining, the “movie” suffers when Costner is off-screen, and a lack of a third act without conclusions or satisfaction cheats his audience.

Frankly, Costner’s execution makes the entire film look and feel like a television pilot setting up the film for future installments. That includes the film ending with a three-minute preview of its companion, which has most of the trailer’s highlights. That begs the question, will Warner Brothers allow the version to have a theatrical release to get there?

Costner’s effort is sprawling and ambitious but lacks nuance in its romanticism of the American West. His first chapter may prevent the audience from coming back for seconds.

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter One is now playing exclusively in theaters courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.