The Western genre has never really gone anywhere, quietly existing within the sidelines of Hollywood for years and years. Bad iterations of this genre have relegated it to smaller screens, with a fanbase that consists of either an ageing audience or a niche clique of youngsters who are looking for a dose of nostalgia. Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 firmly takes a step back into the past, bringing us along for the ride with its extensive narrative that centers around a variety of people trying to make their way through the harsh times of the American Civil War. Everything from displaced families, to immigrant crises, to a clash of ideals that sparks a deadly cat-and-mouse chase across the desert plains into Indigenous Indian territory.
It is unsurprising that Kevin Costner would be attracted to the idea of a Western epic, that chronicles the 15-year journey of westward expansion during the American Civil War, that unfolds over several films, which undoubtedly draws some parallels with James Cameron’s Avatar.
Horizon has an ambitious tale to tell, and the sheer number of characters and sub-plots in this film make it easy to lose your grip on the story. Watching it, I couldn’t help but wonder, what if this were a TV series instead?
A wide-ranging narrative, plenty of compelling sub-plots, and a slew of character arcs that need completing? Horizon does not lack ambition when it comes to telling this story, but perhaps it needs a more fine-tuned presentation of its narrative.
If adapted into a TV series, Horizon would allow for all of this to unfold over a few seasons, and grow as the narrative progresses. This would mean a more controlled pace that would stretch over 10 to 12 episode arcs, making Chapter 1 a great first season with an intriguing premise and room to grow.
This would also go some way to resolve another issue I had with Horizon and the lack of emotional connections I felt with the majority of its characters. Despite its three-hour runtime, many character moments felt like mere set ups for future conflicts. Had this unfurled gradually across a slew of episodes, their stories would have had the opportunity to play out at a more natural pace, thereby allowing us to form deeper connections with these characters.
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 feels like the first act of a film that goes on for three hours, when it could’ve been a great first season of a TV series.
Now don’t get me wrong. Everything about Horizon is beautiful. Kevin Costner has clearly put in a lot of time and love into this project. But even that simply can’t hide the fragmented, incomplete, and bloated narrative of the movie. The star-studded cast – which includes the likes of Sienna Miller, Micheal Rooker, Sam Worthington, and Danny Huston – turn in great performances that just aren’t given the time to be fully appreciated in this first film.
And while I’m out here giving advice to one of this generation’s greatest filmmakers, I might as well add that Costner would do well to to take some inspiration from the newer generation of “Neo-Westerns” that have found some success on television. God knows it might sex up his efforts a little. (See: HBO’s Westworld, or even James Mangold’s Logan.)
While Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 is gorgeous to look at, Costner’s ambition seems to have fumbled what would have been a great TV show.
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