It's hard to believe that Kevin Costner hasn’t directed a film since 2003’s . That was a western - as was, of course, Best Picture winner Dances With Wolves (1990), the first film that saw him take to the director’s chair. Now he’s back with a gargantuan project, Horizon: An American Saga, a classical horse opera in the John Ford mould that will reportedly span four films (Chapter 2 is already slated for release in August).
A kaleidoscopic ensemble piece, Chapter 1 is set during the time of the American Civil War. Exploring the expansion of the American West, it follows white settlers across the landscapes of Wyoming and Montana as they make their way to a town called Horizon. The environment proves to be a hostile one; early on, Costner lets rip with an astonishing scene involving an ambush by two dozen Native Americans.
Among those facing the carnage is Frances (Sienna Miller), a mother of two who hides out beneath ground with her daughter as their house is torched. The sequence ably captures just how bloody life in the Old West could be, although danger seems to lurk around every corner – even scorpions that scuttle into people’s shoes come with a deadly bite. Others in this world include tough-as-nails women played by Jena Malone and Abbey Lee, the latter a single mother who eventually finds her way to Costner’s veteran cowpoke Hayes Ellison.
Scripted by Costner and author Jon Baird, running at three hours, Chapter 1 is as unhurried as they come. It takes co.
