First part of a tetralogy, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 is an ambitious fresco that is by turns lyrical, picturesque and violent in the purest tradition of westerns.
Breathless rides, slow procession of stagecoaches, spectacular attacks and duels, cruel outlaws, dark heroes, women in distress and young ladies of easy virtue: nothing has been forgotten.
However, if the next part, released on August 16, once again offers a quilt of scattered stories carried by characters displaying a sinister appearance, Kevin Costner, who invested 38 million of his own pocket in this colossal galley, risks losing several spectators in its wake. Moreover, the loose images, crumbling under John Debney’s bombastic music, that the filmmaker throws before the end credits more or less make you want to book your ticket.
Stretching over fifteen years, before, during and after the Civil War (1861-1865), Horizon: An American Saga features families of settlers from different states who are going to try their luck in the West. However, the territory belongs to the Apaches, who are seen as bloodthirsty beings or elements of the scenery. Furthermore, like the natives, all the non-white characters are just background characters.
PHOTO WARNER BROS, PROVIDED BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
Actress Sienna Miller in a scene fromHorizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1
Among the countless stories crafted by Costner, John Baird and Mark Kasdan, there is that of Frances Kittredge (Sienna Miller) and her daughter Elizabeth (Georgia MacPhail). Separated from their family since their village was attacked, they become the protégés of the Union army, particularly of high-ranking officer Trent Gephart (Sam Worthington). Obviously, the latter is not indifferent to Frances’ charms. What would a film be without romance?
And Kevin Costner in all this? He arrives triumphantly on his stallion in the second act. Claiming to be a horse trader, his character, Hayes Ellison, who shoots almost as fast as his shadow, falls into the net of Marigold (Abbey Lee). The young prostitute convinces Ellison to take her to other horizons when the mother of the toddler she is caring for, Maria known as Ellen Harvey (Jena Malone), receives a visit from the dangerous Sikes brothers (Jon Beavers and Jamie Campbell Bower).
Embarrassing sexual scenes between Costner and his partner, around thirty (!) years younger than him, follow.
With its ample staging, its epic breath and the photography of J. Michael Muro, which magnifies the hostile deserts, the majestic rocks as well as the green forests, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 had everything to appeal to fans of the genre. Rather than being part of the lineage ofUnforgivenby Clint Eastwood, or by Dances With WolvesCostner’s first feature film, which gave the western back its nobility, this first chapter reveals itself to be a high-sounding soap opera saga.
Indoors
Western
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1
Kevin Costner
With Kevin Costner, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington
3:01 a.m.