Kevin Costner's "Horizon" struggles to find its direction
The idea for the movie "Horizon" came to Kevin Costner's mind over three decades ago. Back then, however, he decided to go ahead with "Dances with Wolves," which brought him well-deserved fame and established him as a first-rate star. He mortgaged his house to realize his old dream, diving back into the deep end. But do audiences still want to watch classic westerns? And was it worth it?
Some dreams are worth revisiting, while others are better left in the past. Kevin Costner's dream remains somewhere in between, in limbo. "Horizon" is just the prologue to this much-anticipated American saga, which the actor and director has planned in four parts, making the first installment feel like an extended prelude to what's to come.
However, this is not a compliment but rather a warning. In his great longing for an authentic Western, Costner seems to have gotten lost in the threads, forgetting to set a clear narrative path or define a main character with whom viewers can identify.
From the first minutes, the movie feels as if at least an hour was cut out at the last minute, and that hour was the one that gave the story coherence and linearity and, thus, character. "Horizon" contains many threads and micro-stories, but this doesn't make it more engaging. Instead, it seems overloaded.
We loved "Dances with Wolves" for its vast expanses, numerous examples of the timeless battle of good versus evil, beautiful love against all odds, and the praise of silence and reflection. In "Horizon," every thread is miserably diluted, bland, and indifferent, bathed in numerous pathetic dialogues that add nothing new and don't advance the plot. After the screening, all one remembers are the vibrant performances of Jena Malone and Abbey Lee and the sad face of Sam Worthington, solid in his role as Colonel. The rest of the large cast melds into one at some point, even though Costner gathered real stars on the set (including Luke Wilson, Sienna Miller, Giovanni Ribisi, and Danny Huston).
A significant problem even arises in casting supporting and bit-part actors—they seem too contemporary, as if they were appearing in a Hollywood show at the Universal Studio or playing scenes in a Skansen. This was likely not the intended look.
In the past, Kevin Costner has had some spectacular failures, like "Waterworld" (by Kevin Reynolds) or "The Postman" (directed by Costner himself). In hindsight, these films are watched with great sentiment and joy, but above all, with admiration for the vision of an actor who never broke down at any stage of his career and continues to do what he loves.
Writing critically about a project someone has waited over thirty years for is hard, and "Horizon" isn't entirely a bad film. It is undoubtedly evident that it was made with love and almost childlike joy. However, harmony and coherence were lost in this admiration of possibilities, and the titular "horizon" was misplaced. It would be nice if, upon completing and showing "Horizon: Part 4" to the audience, it turns out that it all makes profound sense, but right now, it's too early to recognize Costner's genius.
