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‘Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1’: A Great Film That Reminds Us Why The Western Died
“Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1” is a grand and intimate epic that’s a must-see on the big screen for anyone who loves Westerns. But its inability to find a truly compelling “why” for its characters or for Western expansion in general is a sign why the genre, and patriotism itself, is struggling in the modern world.
Kevin Costner returns to the Western genre that won him his Best Director and Best Actor Oscars (1991, “Dances with Wolves”) with an insanely ambitious passion project in which he also directs and stars, and for which he mortgaged his estate and poured $50 million of his own money. The film is titled “Chapter 1” because it’s the first part of a planned four-part theatrical Western epic, the second chapter arrives less than two months after the first, August 16th.
“Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1” follows American pioneers across the states making their way to the Wild West, only connected by their dream of a better life. Whether it’s an enigmatic cowboy (Kevin Costner) who tries to protect a woman of questionable repute (Abbey Lee) and child, a sharpshooting woman (Sellina Miller) and her family trying to survive in a new settlement despite the threat of native tribes, native tribes trying to figure out how to deal with all the pioneers coming, American soldiers (Sam Worthington, Danny Huston, Woody Harrelson) trying to keep the peace, the leader of a wagon train (Owen Wilson) trying to get difficult people to their destination — these individuals are set to shape the future of the American West.
Horizon: An American Saga. Chapter 1. Sam Worthington. New Line Cinema/Territory Pictures/Warner Bros.(2024) IMDB.
A big part of the film’s magic is how it feels both big and personal, achieving the idea of ordinary people making their mark on the wide open spaces of the last frontier at the heart of “Horizon.” This balance of nailing both epic scale and intense intimacy with a large cast of characters is no mean feat. That’s why so few films do it. But Costner manages to do it for several reasons. A three-hour runtime allows room to introduce and develop the characters. The deft camerawork balances the focus between the characters and wide-open spaces. And the editing and pacing of “Horizon” spends just long enough on each moment.
The result feels lavish and unrushed in each scene, without feeling like we’re wasting time or padding things out, like Denis Villeneuve’s otherwise great “Dune” parts 1 and 2. Much of the credit also must be given to the all-star cast, who flawlessly bring these characters to life with the casual ease of the master performers they are.
It’s clear that Kevin Costner loves Westerns. All the classic Western elements are in the story, from the very satisfying portrayal Costner gives of the rough-but-goodhearted gunslinger, to the sharpshooting single mom, to nasty villains, heartbreak, and the classic values of family, masculine chivalry and feminine kindness in a savage place and time. These elements are portrayed with a boyish enthusiasm such that they will scratch the itch of any Western enthusiast, yet tempered with an adult’s understanding of the underlying tragedy of the West, which keeps the movie from seeming shallow.
Horizon: An American Saga. Chapter 1. New Line Cinema/Territory Pictures/Warner Bros.(2024) IMDB.
With such a long runtime and so many characters, it would be easy for such a movie to feel like a self-indulgent and unfocused vanity project. At times it does. But what ties it all together is a very strong theme – given point blank by Col. Hough (Danny Houston) – the dream of Americans for wide open spaces to chart their own destiny despite danger to themselves and harm to others, even at the expense of the natives. This theme is then reinforced by each character thread, each subplot – from both settler and native perspectives – and each jump between wide and close-up shots throughout the film. Such unity between plot, character, theme, and aesthetics is deeply unusual, but welcome. It also prevents the film from ever losing itself or its focus in its details, the way Tarantino’s “Once Upton a Time in Hollywood” did.
“Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1” is not without its flaws. The film ends abruptly, with a teaser for the next part in this 4-part saga, without any real feeling of catharsis. More like you’re watching a pilot of a TV show than a feature film. Of course, that’s sort of baked into the cake with a movie that has “Chapter 1” in the title and teases that “Chapter 2” is coming out only two months later. Other movies like “Fellowship of the Ring,” or “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1,” or “Dune: Part One” have all had satisfying first parts. It seems “Horizon” could have offered a more satisfying finish for a three-hour time investment.
A bigger issue is that the film doesn’t quite deliver a satisfying “why” for its individual characters or for its wider story to truly make me excited to return to this world three more times. The film tells me that the settlers are going West for freedom and self-determination, but it never explains what the individual characters’ dreams or reasons for going West are. This means that the only “why” we are given for these characters is ultimately an expression of selfishness: a longing for freedom, yes, but a self-centered freedom at the expense of others, like the natives they are displacing. It’s hard to root for the characters to succeed or deeply sympathize with their suffering if the source of their suffering is, at best, morally neutral, and, at worst, contemptible. For a really well-made three-hour movie that skillfully explores these themes? Sure, I will gladly invest myself emotionally. Three more three-hour movies? Seems a bit much.
Lacking a “why” is a common problem with modern film and TV in general, and makes many of our stories unnecessarily shallow. “Napoleon” never bothered to explain what drove his insane levels of ambition. “Shogun” never bothered to establish what its lead actually believed in about his culture, so that it actually mattered when he traded it in for a new one.
It’s also likely a big part of why the Western genre collapsed in the late 1960s. Previous generations of Americans believed–ultimately–that American culture made the world a better place. After all, the generation that made Westerns a hit was the generation that saved the world from the Nazis during World War II. So while we would agree that the way we treated the Indians was bad, we still had an underlying gladness that America became America. But the cultural changes in the 60s and 70s meant that later generations didn’t feel that same gladness at America’s existence.
It’s no coincidence that “Star Wars” became such a smash hit in the 70s since that was basically a Western (remember the gun-slinging Han Solo?) but set in a fictional galaxy that didn’t have any complicated relationship with our actual history. “Lord of the Rings,” another story about heroes set in a fantasy world, also became popular with young people, including hippies, in the same era. This may, in fact, be the very reason why sci-fi fantasy films like “Harry Potter,” “Lord of the Rings,” “Spider-Man” and “The Avengers” have so dominated the movie landscape. If you don’t believe in heroes in your own world, you have to find them in fantasy.
This is also why Westerns like “Yellowstone,” and patriotism alike have become so divided on political lines. It’s hard to say that America brought anything uniquely good to the world – such that it might give you positive feelings that we got here despite our shortcomings – without sounding like a conservative. Adam McKay called famous liberal “West Wing” showrunner Aaron Sorkin a “Right-wing version of me” because he portrays the institutions of our country as basically good, just corrupted by bad actors, rather than bad to their core like Adam McKay does.
This happens in other areas too, like the issue of marriage. According to Pew Research, there is a 40% gap between on the question of whether society should prioritize marriage and kids (59% Trump supporters, 19% Biden supporters) despite the overwhelming evidence of how important marriage and kids are for society. In fact, sociologist Brad Wilcox argued on my podcast that many liberals simply don’t want to say that marriage and family are good because it makes them sound like a conservative!
People might bemoan that every movie right now is a superhero movie. But until filmmakers give equally compelling heroes for fans to cheer for onscreen, and reasons to cheer for them, fans will continue to go where the heroes are. Likewise, people might bemoan the lack of trust in our institutions. But until it is bipartisan to promote and defend them – even if that makes them sound Right-wing – they can’t really complain when people walk away from them.
“Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1” is masterful, the acting is flawless, and the scope is both vast and heartbreakingly intimate. It’s a film fans of the genre will want to see on the biggest screen possible. If it only could have dug deeper into the “why” for its characters and the Wild West in general, we could have a genuine modern classic on our hands.
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Joseph Holmes is a New York-based film and culture critic and co-host of The Overthinkers podcast. You can find him at josephholmesstudios.com and on Twitter/X at @NormalGuy8.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Daily Wire.
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