FEATURED MOVIE REVIEW: Horizon: An American Saga

By John Mulderig/OSV News

NEW YORK.  Kevin Costner directed, co-wrote and stars in the epic Western, “Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1” (R, New Line). The first installment of a proposed tetralogy, the sprawling film is visually pleasing but its narrative feels unwieldy.

The movie’s explicit treatment of period mayhem and the inclusion of some sexual material, moreover, make this passion project for Costner strictly grown-up fare.

Set in the 1850s and 60s, the production features an ensemble cast, many of whose characters are united by a connection to the Arizona town of the title. Within this crowded company, Costner plays taciturn, self-reliant horse trader Hayes Ellison.

Hayes gets drawn into a deadly dispute over the custody of a toddler after striking up an acquaintance with prostitute Marigold (Abbey Lee). Marigold lives with the child’s mother, Mrs. Harvey (Jena Malone), and helps out by babysitting. Although earlier scenes show some of the background of the quarrel, its details remain murky.

Other significant figures in the story include pioneer woman Frances Kittredge (Sienna Miller) and First Lt. Trent Gephardt (Sam Worthington), a cavalry officer. We’re also introduced to Matthew Van Weyden (Luke Wilson), the leader of a wagon train, and ruthless Apache warrior Pionsenay (Owen Crow Shoe).

A sense of fatalism hovers over the script, on which Jon Baird collaborated with Costner, since it foresees the extinction of the Native American way of life. But the effort to convey the scale of this historical phenomenon leads to a lack of focus and some confusion for the audience, ultimately resulting in a loose-threaded tapestry.

Although humane values are upheld, scenes of indiscriminate slaughter are too unsettling for kids, while some of the interaction between Hayes and Marigold would be wholly inappropriate for them. So, although “Horizon” — despite its flaws — is effective in evoking the historical era in which it unfolds, this is not a fitting way for youngsters to learn how the West began to be “won.”

“Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1” is currently streaming on a number of platforms, including Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Fandango at Home, Google Play and YouTube.

The film contains much stylized but sometimes harsh violence, including scalping, disturbing images, a semi-graphic nonmarital bedroom encounter, an incident of voyeurism involving upper female and partial nudity, mature themes, including prostitution, numerous profanities, several milder oaths, at least one crude term and a few crass expressions. The OSV News classification is A-III — adults.

(John Mulderig is media reviewer for OSV News. Follow him on Twitter/X @JohnMulderig1.)