Review: Horizon - An American Saga Chapter 1
The American Saga Begins This Summer.
INTRODUCTION
This is a quick review of the newly released film Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1. Keep in mind this is but one of the many movies I watch every year, and that whatever initial grade I come up for this film could change for better or worse with time. To better keep up to date with both my thoughts on other movies and if my feelings on this film changed, follow me on Letterboxd.
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THE PLOT
Via Letterboxd: Explore the lure of the Old West and how it was won, and lost, through the blood, sweat, and tears of many. Spanning the four years of the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, embark on an emotional journey across a country at war with itself, experienced through the lens of families, friends, and foes all attempting to discover what it truly means to be the United States of America.
QUICK REVIEW
At 69 years old Kevin Costner is not ready to stop making art. The Actor/Director who gave us a Best Picture winning western epic in Dances With Wolves, and was the star of the big hit TV series Yellowstone, has cultivated a strong following from the older crowd of our country. And after years of starting and stopping pre-production, he is finally realizing a great undertaking by developing a film anthology of four epic westerns that are one grand-scaled story spanning years and a massive ensemble of actors. Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 is the start of that grand ambition of his come to life.
Now i’m going to give it to you straight. This movie, and anthology as a whole, are not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. It is definitely made for the older crowd that loves Costner’s westerns. There’s plenty of moments in this that I could tell a Boomer was writing this story; in particular the scene where Luke Wilson’s character is introduced and gets mad at a couple for not working. It came off like I was watching a “these damn spoiled kids don’t know hard work!” Facebook meme.
Now i’m not a Boomer but I am a fan of the classic western, especially a grand epic in scale western. My grandfather loved to tell me stories about how in his childhood he would spend just a nickel to go to his local theatre every weekend to watch what are now classic westerns; and I would watch some with him when I could. So this was definitely up my alley.
While the cinematography is great, it does feel like i’m watching a miniseries more than I am a cinematic production. But even so the epic scale and the location shots really engulfed me into the old west. Costner’s ambition shines through with his direction in a way that even if this isn’t for you, you have to give the man props for daring to do something so grandiose. We’re getting a few three hour epics today, but he’s daring to make an anthology of movies released to theatres at a time films like this don’t do so hot at the box office.
The costume designs and the acting are good to great, its honestly amazing that Costner was able to make this with such a huge cast. The ensemble won’t get awards love, but they’ll have a good shot to make my personal awards ballot at the end of the year. The score in this is also top-notch and might have an outside shot at awards recognition. And of course the scale of this is helped by great and underrated production design.
If there’s anything that will divide folks on this movie it’s the story and pacing, particularly with how it chooses to take its sweet time with introducing characters. We actually don’t get to see Costner’s character show up until one hour into the movie! And that’s the thing, you’ll be watching a certain plot unfold, and then suddenly the movie pauses to introduce a whole new set of characters. Meaning this is all set up with so much left hanging by the time its three hour runtime comes to an end. It’s truly a movie that knows its a long one, and knows that its one of four, so it has no rush to tell its story. While I appreciated that, I will say I think this could have been edited down to a shorter film - particularly the first thirty-to-forty minutes that focuses on an attack by native americans on a settlement for far too long.
I will admit this thing is so grandiose and epic in scope that I did sometimes lose track of plots and characters and will definitely need a rewatch to make sure I have certain things put together. So as much as I admired its grand scale, its that very thing that creates a ceiling for what audience responds to this.
But if you’re coming to watch Kevin Costner out in the west, if you appreciate a story that goes back and forth between a big ensemble, if you just like classic westerns period, this should be something you like. If you’re not any of these you can safely skip this. I for one am very intrigued to see where this goes with the next Chapter. The film ends with an amazing montage that made me want to see it ASAP.
I really liked this, but it also feels incomplete. There is something to be said that perhaps this could have just been a big miniseries. But it did its job in making me want to see where the stories go for these characters, and what will happen once they cross paths. I won’t give this a grade for now because I really want to see what follows it up before I do, but I will say this was definitely a good start for me when it comes to this film anthology of Costner’s.
INITIAL GRADING
None…For Now