Horizon: An American Saga, Part 1
If you like Westerns, then 3 hour Westerns are even better — and this is only Part 1! Plus, Kevin Costner in an impressive moustache, beautifully shot landscapes, diverse casting and an old styled Western with a modern interrogation of Manifest Destiny and rush on the Plains, treated as empty land, and understandably angering the peoples who already lived there.
Stories interwoven with stories, we follow several character groups hitting the Trail and ‘making the West’. There’s a wagon trail with two posh artistic Brits who are clueless, spineless, un-American and the bane of Matthew Van Weyden’s (Luke Wilson) life as they fail to follow the rules and live creatively (i.e. selfishly). Though they do have battle their own sense of superiority, creepy pervy Germans/East Europeans, and cultural/social isolationism, (i.e. the water is not for bathing in, it’s for everyone to drink!) Then there’s the Sykes family who have some strange family politics going on, as their sister steals her child back from her father — and shoots him to do so. The brothers Sykes hunt her and the child down (bickering violently all the way), bring her back into the fold via a gold rush con and the child’s adventures form part of future plots (Parts 2–4).
Foolish white settlers are starting to measure up land for a settlement called Horizon. We see how they treat the land as empty, the watching concerned native peoples as an inconvenience or nuisance — and the big landscapes and cinematography make it feel empty. However, they’re building straight onto established hunting grounds and pushing species away, essentially starving the existing people. Worst of all is the lack of consultation of the people who were already there — and are justifiably angry and bemused. Pionsenay (Owen Crow Shoe) deals with this by wiping out the settlers and declaring war/fight back. But as the elder of his people rightly says the settlers will be unable work out who is peaceful and is for war and come for them all — and for generations to come. Revenge begets revenge. He chooses peaceful retreat in the mountains with his family. We see a split in the people, mirroring the Ghost Dances of the latter part of the century, as young warriors go their way, leaving others to their hidden way of life.
Within Horizon (I think) a tented community forms and there’s a dance! It’s joyous — but not for long, as the local people attack them to force them to move away. The slaughter is horrific and the Kittredge family end up holed up to the death in their wooden cabin. Which is being burnt from the top down as the turf roof is aflame. We see their desperation as doors are locked, windows shuttered and dressers pushed against doors as protection. For some reason I don’t understand, the Kittredge women are pushed into a cellar, whilst the other women stay in the carnage. Father and son know they’re facing death. Unfortunately the cellar begins to collapse and the women are left trapped, using a gun barrel shoved desperately through the earth to breathe.
At the same time, death by arrow is a slow death and we feel the pathetic-ness of their situation. A young boy outruns the attack on horseback and arrives at a nearby fort, one of the few survivors, This brings the Army into play, and Sam Worthington’s Trent Gephart to try and do the right thing. He feels for the indigenous peoples, that the settlers brought it on themselves and shouldn’t be there in the first place. But this is not the official Army position. They are encouraged to move to the safety of a fortified settlement or face similar retribution again. They are going where they shouldn’t go and being where they shouldn’t be — pushing into assigned indigenous lands and disregarding previous agreements in the quest for land, wealth and new lives. But the handbills encouraging a move to the West keep appearing…
Sienna Miller’s Frances Kittredge is finally rescued, with her daughter Elizabeth, from under the ground, and into romance with gallant Trent Gephart. Though we do see the trauma both mother and daughter go through as they try to identify the remains of their dead menfolk — and how the daughter Elizabeth is forced to parent her mother for a time as she sits in stunned grief, having acted in fierce protection when the Army first tried to pull them out and back to life.
Whilst we get a glimpse of fort life and a hugely emotional moment as men go off to war (I’m a bit confused in the timeframe which war this is), we also join a ramshackle miners camp, where Marigold (Abbey Lee) is hunting Kevin Costner’s stranger in town Hayes Ellison, and evading baby sitting duties. And the super scandalised respectable ladies of the town — and the competition of other sex workers, and boring predictable men who laugh too much. Which is unfortunate because she’s going to get drawn into the Sykes family shenanigans as their sister’s roomie/child minder and end up fleeing with Ellison and the child Samsons for their lives. Ellison kills one of the Sykes brothers in an unfortunate encounter; equally unfortunate is Marigold’s horrible boyfriend/pimp whom she inexplicably takes off with abandoning Samsons with a nice Chinese family and their lovable donkey.
Then, there’s a horrible group of men who take the young boy who escaped the massacre at Horizon (?) previously. His hatred of indigenous peoples is being encouraged whilst they ‘hunt’ them and scalp them. This leads to a horrible attack on a village, killing mostly women and children. There’s also a stand-off between a peaceful trader and his son, the young boy with a gun and the horrible men. Mixed up with them is a scout who styles himself in European ways, but also experiences racial slurs due to his indigenous background. The young boy is learning that hate is not the way, whilst the horrible men don’t care, and as viewers we’re getting an interesting lesson on how much of America was founded on gun culture.
It’s absorbing, but there are so many characters and plots at points that it’s hard to remember who’s who or why they’re all there. However, you’re so in the moment that three hours fly by, and it’s only when you try to relate things later that you go ‘I have no idea what their name was or who they were’. But this is BIG Western — the country is most definitely BIG — and it’s admirable in trying to present a many faceted story, balancing their indigenous peoples alongside different kinds of pioneers/invaders. Overall it’s the small moments, the stories within the stories that really hit home, such as when the women ask of the returning warriors where their men are and get a sad shake of the head as reply. We see a range of motivations and peoples, from the strong castle rustling family of mostly women to the hard working Chinese community and the casual racism and rejection they experience.
Though it’s a bit miniseries-y, the set up of ‘coming soon’ has left me longing for Parts 2–4. Can’t wait! Whilst the styling is authentic, many of the women (particularly the main characters) have truly terrible unhistorical messy hair. They are festival ready, though sadly waiting another 100 years or so for Woodstock. There aren’t enough bonnets or hats — though the men have great hats and facial hair. Love the pristine Army uniforms, even in the desert! As usual, there’s a whole hunk of fur draped over the Sykes brothers coats (implying hunter/trapper communities) in a raggedy way, rather than the slicker, trimmer tailoring used at the time. No matter their status, people liked to look groomed in the past, not messy and dirty. Hopefully Parts 2–4 will improve on this and up the budget for hair pins! and include a whole bodice for Marigold who unhistorically wanders around in a historical fayre corsetty number. (Though this does allow uptight respectable ladies to judge her and shame her on the street!) Set aside three hours, enjoy the fun and spectacle!
Enjoyed reading this article?! Support my writing at: https://ko-fi.com/susanadventuresinculture
