Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 (2024)

3 Stars (out of 4)

Sprawl on the Western Front

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Kevin Costner's three-hour Western Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1, the first of four proposed chapters, meanders a bit, and often looks more small-screen than big-screen spectacle, but if you give it a chance, it grows on you.

It's 1859, and Apache have been attacking and killing settlers that have tried to build a town called "Horizon." Frances Kittredge (Sienna Miller) and her daughter Lizzie (Georgia MacPhail) survive one such attack and are taken in by the U.S. Cavalry, where the gentlemanly First Lt. Trent Gephardt (Sam Worthington) takes a shine to her.

Meanwhile, Ellen Harvey (Jena Malone) is in hiding from the powerful, murderous Sykes family. She lives in a remote cabin with her husband Walter (Michael Angarano) and a two-year-old child. Prostitute Mary (Abbey Lee) sometimes looks after the child, and it's during one of these occasions that Hayes Ellison (Kevin Costner) comes to visit. Unfortunately, he arrives at the same time as Caleb Sykes (Jamie Campbell Bower). Caleb draws and Hayes shoots and kills him, prompting him to go on the run with Mary and the child.

Then, a wagon train led by Matthew Van Weyden (Luke Wilson) makes its way through Indian territory, hampered by a naive, pampered English couple, Juliette (Ella Hunt) and Hugh (Tom Payne). Moreover, others have also hit the trail, seeking revenge for the attack on Horizon.

Directed and co-written by Costner — his first feature since his well-crafted, low-key Open Range — Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 has as its biggest challenge the fact that the story isn't over yet. In other words, it's hard to judge, given that we don't know exactly how things will pan out.

Costner was clearly inspired by the gargantuan How the West Was Won (1963), which tells a similarly sprawling story of the old West. It was split into segments (each directed by different filmmakers), so it was easier to follow than Costner's film, which jumps back and forth between three or four storylines. (One of them is introduced in the third hour, which is a little confusing.)

Additionally, the filmmaker who gave us a sympathetic look at Indigenous Peoples in Dances With Wolves resorts to more traditional techniques here, like villainous "Indians," which feels like a step backwards.

Nonetheless, as the three hours rolls along and certain of the dozens of faces start to become recognizable — most of the performances are solid — things begin to come together in a familiar rhythm, and it captures the attention, especially for those interested in Western-type stories. But the real test of Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 will be seeing how it ties in with the rest of its story.